The Buffalo Bills are now under a month away from making their first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Who will they take at pick No. 26 at the upcoming annual selection meeting? We gathered the predictions of some of the top draft pundits from around the football world to give you our latest Bills’ 2026 NFL Mock Draft roundup after NFL free agency.
One interesting, overarching note here is that as more 2026 NFL Mock Drafts come out with trades included, the No. 26 pick has become a hot spot for teams to trade up for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (most often the Arizona Cardinals). This makes a lot of sense as Bills general manager Brandon Beane loves trading his first-round pick either to move up for a target or move back to regain draft capital.
In 2026, after losing his second-round pick to the Chicago Bears in the D.J. Moore trade, it makes a lot of sense that pundits are predicting that Beane moves out of this spot. And if this trade does, in fact, involve the Cardinals, that moves the Bills’ first selection in the 2026 NFL Draft back to No. 34, the second pick of the second round.
EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Tim Crean, ClutchPoints; Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Network
While not every Bills’ 2026 NFL Mock Draft is in agreement, the consensus is that the team will take an edge rusher, and Cashius Howell is the most-mocked name to Buffalo. If not for his 30 ¼-inch arms, Howell would likely be a mid-first-round selection. However, his physical shortcomings are making teams ignore his 11.5 sacks and 14.0 tackles for a loss last season.
Howell might not be a fit for all teams, but with former Denver Broncos defensive assistant Jim Leonhard now running the D, taking on an undersized outside linebacker seems like more of a possibility. It worked out pretty well for Leonhard’s old team with Nick Bonitto.
EDGE Zion Young, Missouri
If not Howell, Missouri’s Zion Young seems like the most likely edge rusher who both fits the Bills’ new defensive system and should be there at 26. Young improved his sack total every year of his college career at Michigan State and Missouri, although the numbers aren’t eye-popping (11.5 sacks in four seasons).
What is eye-popping is Young’s performance and measurables through the run-up to the 2026 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-6, 262-pound pass rusher dominated the Senior Bowl, winning Defensive Player of the Game. That was enough to get front offices to go back and check the tape to see if Young has more potential than originally thought.
EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
This is an old-school Brandon Beane pick that would be questionable with the new defensive mission in Western New York. Keldric Faulk is a 6-foot-6, 276-pound EDGE who doesn’t turn 21 until September. He should have a ton of upside, but a big 4-3 DE who may be two to three years away doesn’t make sense for Buffalo in 2026.
Faulk would have been the perfect pick for the Bills circa 2021, but the Bills need a pass rusher with more explosiveness and one who can help out this year, not when Josh Allen is 33. However, Bills Mafia knows this “same old Beane” selection is a real possibility. e
DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
Speaking of the Bills’ conversion to a 3-4 defense, another thing they don’t have for that alignment is a true nose tackle. Last year’s rookie standout, Deone Walker, is NT-sized at 6-foot-7, 331 pounds, but what makes him special is that he is athletic enough to play a little wider as a DT/DE.
Kayden McDonald is that NFL nose. He is a true space-eater at 6-foot-2, 326 pounds. It may be tough to spend a first-round pick on a player who will likely only be on the field for two downs, but stopping the run is something the Bills need to do, and in this NFL draft, McDonald is one of the best at doing it.
LB CJ Allen, Georgia
Field Yates, ESPN; Bucky Brooks, NFL Network
The Bills taking Georgia linebacker CJ Allen in the 2026 NFL Draft is fascinating on several levels, and not just because he would be the third ALLEN jersey (along with Josh and Kyle) on the 2026 roster.
Field Yates and Bucky Brooks get to this pick in different ways. Brooks has the Bills taking Allen at 26 in his 2026 NFL Mock draft, while Yates has Buffalo trading the pick to the Cardinals, falling back to 34, and still picking up the LB.
Either way, Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams probably aren’t great fits for Leonhard’s scheme, so adding another off-ball LB does make a lot of sense. And if the Bills can get the best traditional MLB in this draft early in the second round, it should help the D dramatically.
CB Aveion Terrell, Clemson
The Bills could use more cornerback depth, especially with Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairiston’s injury histories. Taking another Round 1 CB would be tough, but it also makes sense. With Aveion Terrell, you know you are getting an NFL CB who will hold down a starting job for a long time. He’s a little undersized, but with a brother playing the same spot in the pros, you have an idea of what Terrell will look like. This is a fine pick, but not a sexy or hugely high-reward one.
OG Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
Most Bills’ mock drafts have moved squarely to the defensive side of the ball. However, you can still find an offensive-minded mock here and there. After losing David Edwards, the Bills do have a need at left guard. Right now, Alec Anderson and Austin Corbett will compete for that job, but bringing in the third-best pure guard in this draft (behind Olaivavega Ioane and Emmanuel Pregnon) in Chase Bisontis is an intriguing selection.
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