What Buffalo Bills Got Right, What They Got Wrong During 2026 NFL Draft

The Bills made two handfuls of picks over the final two days of the selection process and there is plenty to analyze.

TCU Horned Frogs linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr (3) celebrates during the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the SMU Mustangs. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

With the NFL Draft in the rear-view mirror, it’s a good time to determine what the Buffalo Bills got right and what they got wrong over the course of their 10 overall selections on Days 2 and 3.

The Bills spent six selections on defensive players, three on offense and one on special teams, swinging several deals in the process to add draft capital. There was good, there was bad, and there were also a few ugly moments along the way, most notably when it came to the team’s navigation of the draft board.

What they got wrong 

Boston College Eagles offensive lineman Jude Bowry (71) warms up before a game against the Fordham Rams. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Bills traded out of the first round to finish the draft with three more picks than the seven with which they entered the selection process. While this year’s crop of prospects wasn’t considered to be chock-full of bona fide Day 1 talent, Buffalo’s various trade-downs left the team with 80% of its picks falling in Rounds 4 or later. That was a mistake.

Even if they hit on a few diamonds in the rough, it’s tough to imagine the Bills finding true star power in many of their Day 3 picks. While I am impressed with the Skyler Bell selection for the wide receiver corps, and I also believe linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr and safety Jalon Kilgore were high-value picks, hitting big on a player drafted after Round 3 isn’t as probable, especially in the short term.

Typically, players drafted later need more seasoning before they’re ready to contribute at the professional level. And this is a win-now team. Those two things don't mix.

With that said, the Bills have seen immediate results on their draft investment before, namely with 2025 fourth-round pick defensive tackle Deone Walker, ’25 fifth-round pick tight end Jackson Hawes and ’25 sixth-round pick cornerback Dorian Strong, before he sustained a worrisome neck injury. 

Despite Strong's injury, Buffalo did well with their evaluations of all three players. But finding similar results regularly is rare and a difficult feat to repeat.

In 2024, for example, of the Bills’ seven picks made on Day 3, only Ray Davis has made any sort of impact, and that has come as a kick returner. The rest of the group, including offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, linebacker Edefuan UIofoshio, edge rusher Javon Solomon, OL Tylan Grable, CB Daquan Hardy and OL Travis Clayton, are all non-factors or not even on the team anymore in Ulofoshio and Hardy's case.

Perhaps Beane can pull off some late-round magic for the second straight year, but recent history is mixed.

Along with the ’25 draft, Beane also did well on Day 3 selections in 2022, when he landed wide receiver Khalil Shakir as a fifth-rounder and cornerback Christian Benford in the sixth round. Before that, you had former Bills nickel CB Taron Johnson in the fourth round in 2018. I’m not sure we can count WR Gabe Davis, a fourth-round pick in 2020 or kicker Tyler Bass, who was drafted in the sixth round that same year, as hits for Beane.

You have Walker, a big piece of the Bills’ defensive line; Hawes, a blocking TE; Strong, who would be a reserve if he weren’t injured; Ray Davis, a special teams contributor; and then you get to true stars in Shakir, Benford and Johnson.

Three or four really good players and a few other minor contributors. Aside from that, of the 40 Day-3 picks Beane previously made as Bills general manager since 2018, there just isn’t much to speak of in terms of prospects lower on the draft board transforming into star performers.

It’s tough to believe that selections such as that of offensive lineman Jude Bowry, an underwhelming fourth-round pick, will help shift that suddenly. But if a shift does occur, I’m here for it.

What they got right

Connecticut Huskies wide receiver Skyler Bell (1) runs the ball against the Ball State Cardinals. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

If that turns out to be the case, it will likely be two players leading the way.

Ever since the Bills made their back-to-back fourth-round picks, bringing in Bell and Elarms-Orr, I have been lauding Beane and his staff for their savvy selections. I think Bell can legitimately help the Buffalo passing game right away, while Elarms-Orr has an outside chance of stepping into a contributing role on the defensive side of the ball in his rookie season. 

I didn’t like how it seemed all of the Bills’ brilliant moves came late in the draft, one of which was the selection of Kilgore, who was predicted by some to go far ahead of when Buffalo drafted him in Round 5. But I must say, Buffalo’s action on Day 3 salvaged what would have been a rough go for the organization with the way things started on Days 1 and 2, particularly with the trade-up for cornerback Davison Igbinosun, which left me scratching my head.

I am even holding out hope that late-round pick cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. can make a small contribution in Year 1, along with fellow seventh-rounder punter Tommy Doman Jr., who I projected to make the team over Mitch Wishnowsky in my post-draft 53-man roster projection.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows from Beane and the Bills, but they came on strong late and deserve credit for what projects as a few solid picks down the stretch on Saturday.

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