There's significant work to be done in the draft for the Bills who have question marks on the roster.
Alaina GetzenbergApr 20, 2026, 06:00 AM ET
- Alaina Getzenberg covers the Buffalo Bills for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An ample amount will be learned about the 2026 Buffalo Bills in the next week.
For the first time, president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane will be running a draft without former coach Sean McDermott. McDermott and Beane reported to owner Terry Pegula separately, which is no longer the case as new head coach Joe Brady reports to Beane.
Beane has seven picks, beginning with the team's first-round selection at No. 26.
Although the front office is the same, Brady will bring a new perspective as the team builds out the locker room.
"Look, this guy's an outstanding player, but is he smart enough?' And I'm gonna dive into, put him in different positions, see if he can digest it all and be able to respond," Brady said at the annual league meeting on what he's looking for in draft prospects. "Some I want to just see if the guy has a love for the game of football. Or it's like, 'Hey man, he's going to be playing next to this person. He needs to have this type of trait.'"
There's significant work to be done in the draft for the Bills who have question marks on the roster. The selections, especially for new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, will detail the direction the team is moving in, while also spotlighting changes in approach without McDermott.
What are the Bills' big questions to answer with the 2026 draft?
Trading up or trading down?
Based on Beane's history, the gap between No. 26 and the Bills next pick at No. 91 is far from guaranteed to remain.
Beane is no stranger to moving up and down in the first round. He traded up in 2018 (twice), 2022 and 2023, while trading back to the top of the second round in 2024. This year, the lack of a second round-pick could make trading up more complicated.
This week, ESPN and NFL Network's draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah noted teams may not want to make trades this time around because of the strength of the 2027 draft class.
"I do not get the sense that anybody wants to part with 2027 picks at this point in time," Jeremiah said. "I have not heard that at all. There's a lot more chatter about teams picking in the bottom of one that would like to get out [of] there. So that would be for, you're talking about mid-round picks."
Although finding a team to work with might not be simple, trading back would give the team more tools to work with.
Does a receiver in the first round make sense?
The position remains unsettled. Beane said a couple weeks ago that a receiver is still in play at No. 26. The Bills traded their second-round pick to the Chicago Bears as part of the deal for wide receiver DJ Moore.
The Bills remain in touch with veteran receiver Brandin Cooks, who spent the end of last season with the team.
Uncertainty has surrounded receiver Keon Coleman, who was selected with the 33rd overall pick after moving back twice in 2024.
Coleman has remained on the roster despite issues on and off the field in his first two seasons. This offseason, both Brady and Beane have emphasized a desire for Coleman to still find a fit on this team and be a productive part of the offense.
If drafted, the Bills would be adding a receiver to a group that is led by Moore, Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer. Adding someone, especially early in the draft, would come with prioritizing a different skillset than the players already in the unit.
"Does the guy do anything extra other than receiver? Is he a gunner? Is he a punt returner? Like all those conversations," Beane said on looking at potential receivers. "How does he get to game day? How does he help us? Is he getting a jersey? Those will be the conversations. But yes, if there's a dynamic player that can help us starter or not at receiver, we would take him."
This is also a roster that still has a diversity of needs. Using a later-round pick on receiver(s) could be the move, but this is a position the team has had issues getting right. With the resources given up for Moore already, it would be out of character for the GM to give up a significant amount more to move up for a receiver.
Defense, defense, defense?
The Bills heavily addressed the defense with last year's class, using the team's first five picks on that side of the ball and six of the first seven.
With the change to Leonhard's scheme -- shifting from a 4-3 base to a 3-4 -- investing heavily again in the defense would not be a surprise, although not likely to the extent the team did last year.
The most significant positions of need include edge/outside linebacker, inside linebacker, nose tackle and outside cornerback. Although cornerback has been linked to the team in the first round in some mock drafts, going back into that well so early after using a first-round pick on Maxwell Hairston last year would be a significant resource to put into that bucket for a third outside corner. The Bills will try to build on the pairing of Hairston and Christian Benford, who received a four-year extension last year. Adding depth there later in the draft would be more fitting to round out the room.
Early round positions to target?
So, where is the team likely to go early in the draft? The top defensive needs, and receiver and offensive guard shouldn't be ruled out. Guard is less of a candidate because of the strength of the offensive line group going into the draft.
When and how the team addresses inside linebacker will be something to watch as the position will be used differently in Leonhard's scheme, with Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams already on the roster. Beane described the draft class as deep at inside linebacker, and therefore the Bills could land a desired player in later rounds.
Potential early round targets:
EDGE: Cashius Howell, Keldric Faulk, T.J. Parker, Malachi Lawrence
ILB: Jacob Rodriguez, CJ Allen, Josiah Trotter, Anthony Hill Jr.
WR: Jordyn Tyson, Denzel Boston, KC Concepcion, Germie Bernard