What the NFL Draft Confirmed About Joe Brady’s Real Plan for the Bills

If there is one thing the 2026 NFL Draft confirmed about Joe Brady’s real plan for the Buffalo Bills, it’s that there is set to be a true split between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for the first time in quite a while.

Throughout former head coach Sean McDermott’s tenure, there were rumblings about his involvement in the team’s offensive decision-making. However, under Brady, the Bills’ new head coach has made it clear that he will have his side of things and first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will control his side of the ball.

“I have a lot of trust in him,” said Brady of Leonhard after the Bills hired their new DC. “That's why he's here.”

That theory was confirmed with the way the Bills drafted this year, selecting six defensive players, all of whom are suited to fit Leonhard’s style of defense. If you look beyond the team’s draft slate and read between the lines a bit, during a clip posted to the Bills’ X account, you sense Leonhard’s ownership of that side of the ball during conversations he had a Bills’ draftee after their selection.

“I’m excited, it’s gonna be fun, man,” said Leonhard to second-round pick T.J. Parker after being handed the phone by Brady.

Leonhard added: “We’re gonna build something special up here and want you to be a big part of it.”

They were encouraging words delivered by a man who has already had plenty of say in things this year.

Other picks

Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard arrives before a NCAA Big Ten Conference football game against Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Along with Parker’s selection, the Bills also drafted cornerback Davison Igbinosun in the first round, a physical cornerback who should fit Leonhard’s attack-style, havoc-creating defense. Elsewhere, the Bills targeted several other players with impressive athletic traits as they got further down the draft board.

Fourth-rounder Kaleb Elarms-Orr recorded an athleticism score of 86 at the NFL Scouting Combine, which was second among all linebackers tested, according to Next Gen Stats. Safety Jalon Kilgore is another impressive athlete who was considered a steal in the fifth round. His athleticism score [79] ranked third among players tested at his position. Finally, seventh-round cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. posted an impressive 74 athleticism score, which was 11th among cornerbacks.

So when you look at the Bills’ draft class from a birds’-eye view, much of it was assembled to suit Leonhard and how he is expected to deploy his unit in his first season as a coordinator at the professional level. That’s appropriate, considering the roster holes that Buffalo needed to fill entering the offseason and the need to onboard a new multiple-front unit with a 3-4 base defense.

Still involved

Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This isn’t to say Brady will be a passive head coach, solely focused on the offense. He has also stated how he will spend ample time around the defensive meeting rooms and in discussions with Leonhard to learn “how to talk the defense” and other aspects related to that side of the ball.

Still, he reiterated it’s Leonhard’s show, as OnSI's Ralph Ventre wrote previously.

“I'm not calling the plays,” Brady said back in early February.

Therefore, don’t expect him to interfere with personnel decisions or with play calling, as McDermott was always accused of doing with the offense for years. Along with previous comments, if the draft made one thing clear, it’s that this is Leonhard’s defense to manage.

Come hell or high water.

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