Immediate Grade for Bills Drafting South Carolina Defensive Back Jalon Kilgore in Fifth Round

The Buffalo Bills made another strong move in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, selecting South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore with the No. 167 overall pick to help round out their secondary.

Kilgore is the second DB drafted by the Bills this year, with the first coming after a trade-up to the second round for Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun. The former Gamecocks defender can play both cornerback and safety, offering the versatility that the Bills covet in their defensive backs.

Buffalo also drafted versatile DB Jordan Hancock in the fifth round a season ago, making Kilgore the fifth defensive back to be selected by the Bills over the past two years. The others also include 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston and ’25 sixth-rounder Dorian Strong.

Kilgore is the second player the Bills have drafted out of South Carolina in as many seasons, as he joins 2025 second-round defensive tackle TJ Sanders in Buffalo. After drafting Kilgore, the Bills traded out of their second consecutive fifth-round selection at pick No. 168, leaving them with just two picks remaining at No. 181 in the fifth round, No. 213 in the sixth round and No. 220 in the seventh round.

The Bills appeared to be pursuing another addition at the safety position even after signing free agents C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Geno Stone and Damar Hamlin this offseason. Additionally, the team needed to bring in depth at cornerback and may have killed two birds with one stone with Kilgore’s selection.

His track record

South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore (DB39) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kilgore received a mediocre Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 65.3 a season ago, but his run defense grade of 80.6 ranked him 105th among 897 graded players at his position. He finished the 2025 season with a career-high 10 passes defensed to go with 54 tackles and a couple of interceptions. He is two years removed from a career-best five interceptions and finished his career with 21 passes defensed.

Of his 750 defensive snaps in 2025, 41% came in the slot, 29% came in the box, and 26% came at free safety, according to PFF. Along with serving as depth in the back end, he will also serve as insurance behind free-agent acquisition, nickel cornerback Dee Alford.

Final grade: B

Some draft analysts had the former South Carolina DB pegged anywhere from a second-to-fifth-round pick, so for the Bills to acquire him in Round 5 is great value. The only thing I would have liked the team to do differently was pursue a defensive tackle, which is a position they have yet to address this offseason.

However, Kilgore is a piece that can be moved around throughout new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s multiple-front defense and offers high upside near the back end of the draft. It’s tough to find anything to dislike about the pick in and of itself. However, when you look at Buffalo’s roster, there are a few other spots they could have used a player or two to fill things out.

Nevertheless, this is another solid pick by the Bills.

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