When Will Buffalo Bills Make Round 1 Draft Pick And Will It Be During Sabres' Game?

The good news is that Buffalo Bills' fans won't have to wait nearly as long as they did for their team's first-round pick at the 2025 NFL Draft.

Not only are the Bills four spots higher in the Round 1 order this year, the league has shortened the time allotment for each first-round selection from 10 minutes down to eight.

While Buffalo secured Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston with the No. 30 overall selection at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET on draft night last year, this year's pick (No. 26 overall) should happen more than one hour earlier on April 23.

Factoring in the idea that not every team will use all eight minutes, the Bills' turn should come up around 10:15 p.m. ET give or take 10 minutes Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

The problem is that the attention of Western New York's sports fans may still be focused on the Sabres, who are in the NHL Postseason for the first time in nearly 15 years, when the Bills are finally ready to make their pick.

After a 4-2 home loss on Tuesday, the Sabres are tied 1-1 in a NHL Best-of-7 playoff series with the Boston Bruins. Even Bills' quarterback Josh Allen has Sabres' fever.

Puck drop in a critical Game 3 is set for 7:10 p.m. ET in Boston. Depending upon actual start time and game flow, the Sabres may be in the closing minutes of the third period when the Bills are on the clock in Pittsburgh.

For reference, Game 2 in Buffalo officially began at 7:42 p.m. ET and Period 3 lasted until 10:34 p.m. on April 21.

Sabres' fans — Apr 19, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres fans wait for the doors to open before a game against the Boston Bruins in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center. | Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Will Bills actually make a Round 1 pick?

With an admittedly low number of first-round grades amongst the 2026 draft class, it's unlikely that a prospect with true Round 1 value falls to No. 26 overall.

“I'm going to have it ranked 1 to 26, like, no matter how the board falls. And no, I don't have anywhere near 26 first-round grades. So, that means I'm going into the second round," said Bills' general manager Brandon Beane on Monday. "I'm going to have it ranked, ready to go, and we'll be ready no matter what. Again, we'll make decisions whether we think trade up, take the pick, or trade back."

There appears to be a good chance that Beane tries to trade back and recoup the second-round pick that he used to acquire wide receiver DJ Moore.

In 2024, Beane traded from No. 28 overall down to No. 32 overall before flipping the last first-rounder for the first selection in Round 2 and an additional fourth-rounder.

If he's unable to strike a deal, Beane should simply target the best player available at either edge rusher or wide receiver.

2026 Bills' draft picks

Round 1 — No. 26 overall

Round 3 — No. 91 overall

Round 4 — No. 126 overall

Round 5 — No. 165 overall (from Bears)

Round 5 — No. 168 overall

Round 6 — No. 182 (from Raiders)

Round 7 — No. 220 (from Jets)

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