The Buffalo Bills enter the 2026 NFL Draft with seven selections over three days, with the most coming on Day 3. One thing Bills fans can be almost certain about is that general manager Brandon Beane will not stay put and simply draft the players in the spots he currently sits. So, what will happen and who will be coming to Western New York at the end of April? Let’s make some bold Bills’ predictions for the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Bills trade out of the first round
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In his NFL drafts this decade, Brandon Beane has stayed put in his first-round slot just twice (2025, 2021). He traded up in 2022 and 2023 and back to the second round in 2024. In 2020, he traded out of the first round before the draft, giving the Minnesota Vikings the pick that would become Justin Jefferson to acquire Stefon Diggs.
This year feels a lot like those years when Beane moved around. There isn’t a deep group of players at positions of need, so look for the GM to make things happen on his own. Trading up wouldn’t be a complete shock, but without a second-round pick after the D.J. Moore trade, going up will be tough.
What’s more likely is that the Bills punt on the first round altogether and make a move back to the top of Round 2, while recouping some of the draft capital they’ve lost over the year. The most likely scenario to do this is to make a deal with the Arizona Cardinals or New York Jets, who may want to move from the top of Round 2 to the backend of Round 1 to ensure they get a fifth-year option when drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
If this is the case, the Bills can add selections at the top of Rounds 2 and 3 as well as a late Day 3 pick to their fold. One thing Bills Mafia should not expect, though, is to add a 2027 first. Those will be treated like gold in this draft as next year’s class looks loaded.
Buffalo will take specialists in the 2026 NFL Draft
The biggest reason that the Bills will move back into Round 2 this year is that the group of prospects likely available at 26 don’t have all-around superstar potential. That’s not to say that there won’t be incredibly productive players taken at the backend of Round 1, but at that point, you are looking more at specialists rather than full-time starters.
The good news here is that, for a team like the Bills that is looking to get over the hump and reach a Super Bowl, specialists can be incredibly valuable on this roster.
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Bills need things like a pass-rush specialist, a run-stuffing nose tackle, second starters at middle linebacker and safety, depth at guard and tackle, and an outside WR2. Players like that won’t immediately fix teams like the Cardinals, Jets, or Las Vegas Raiders, but they could help a team like the Bills immensely.
If Buffalo does trade to the top of Round 2, specialists like the run-dominating Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald, the wildly productive but short-armed speed rusher Cashius Howell, and the smaller but explosive wideout KC Concepcion—both from Texas A&M—would be great picks.
Brandon Beane will hit on some sleepers
No matter what happens at 26 (or later if Brandon Beane trades back), the draft truly starts for the Bills at pick 91 in Round 3. In Beane’s near-decade at the helm of the Bills, he’s done much better picking late than he has picking early.
In the same last six years we looked at above, the Bills’ first pick in each of those drafts were Maxwell Hairston, Keon Coleman, Dalton Kincaid, Kaiir Elam, Gregory Rousseau, and AJ Epenesa. That is a mixed bag at best. And Kincaid is the only one who, technically, has a Pro Bowl appearance. Although that was as a replacement for Travis Kelce last season.
In Rounds 4-7, Beane has done a much better job at unearthing talent. This decade, the Bills have drafted Deon Walker, Ray Davis, Khalil Shakir, Christian Benford, Damar Hamlin, Gabe Davis, and Tyler Bass on Day 3.
So, it stands to reason that Beane will, once again, bring in some sleepers who will bring a lot to the table. Keep an eye on Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris, Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock, and Cincinnati WR Jeff Caldwell. Players like that should easily fall to the range where Buffalo has more picks, and they could make a difference right away, as some of the players mentioned above did in their rookie seasons.
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