Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘The Bills lost Mack Hollins to the Patriots, and they didn’t re-sign Amari Cooper. They signed Palmer to effectively replace Cooper, and they just signed Moore Wednesday, a player who can line up inside and out and has 200 career catches in four seasons for the Jets and Browns. They surprisingly did not add anyone of substance in the draft (Kaden Prather in the seventh round probably isn’t helping) so newcomers Palmer and Moore will have to step up to help Shakir. Of course, the same goes for Coleman who was hurt and underwhelming in his rookie year, and for Samuel who never found his niche. The Moore signing might push Shenault off the roster unless he can definitively win the kickoff return job and contribute elsewhere on special teams.’

‘Walker brings exactly what the Bills’ defensive line has needed; size to clog up the middle against the run and drag blockers away from both Ed Oliver plus the back seven on run plays. His pass rush is not elite, but he did have 7.5 sacks in the 2023 season when he was named second-team All-SEC.’

‘Hancock will come in and compete to provide depth behind Taron Johnson where right now, the main backup is utility player Cam Lewis. Hancock actually profiles similarly to Lewis in that he can play safety if needed.’

‘With Quintin Morris out testing free agency and apparently not coming back to Buffalo, the third-string TE right now is Zach Davidson behind Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Davidson is not a good blocker which the Bills covet in their in-line tight ends, but Hawes certainly was in college. That will be his path to the roster.’

‘The strategy at cornerback is clearly to bring in as many candidates as possible and may the best man win. Now, Strong won’t have much of a chance staring up at first-round pick Max Hairston and veteran free agents Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson, but his goal should be to at least get on the practice squad and spend the season there, then compete for a roster spot in 2026 when White and Jackson will probably be gone.’

‘Lundt will compete for a backup role at tackle with holdovers Ryan Van Demark, Tylan Grable and Richard Gouraige. It will be a tough haul for him to beat out Van Demark or Grable, but he could earn a place on the practice squad where he could develop.’

‘Prather will have a shot to find a place on the practice squad and who knows where it goes from there. If he can play on special teams, that would help his cause, but it’s rare when a seventh-round pick makes much of a dent.’

‘The only corners who went in the first round besides Hairston were two-way star Travis Hunter at No. 2 to the Jaguars, and Jahdae Barron to the Broncos at No. 20. Will Johnson was expected to be gone, but a knee condition dropped him all the way to the middle of the second round, and Trey Amos – a popular mock pick to the Bills – lasted until the end of the second round.’

‘Sanders has the versatility to play both the one-tech and three-tech, but he will have to work on his run defense which wasn’t always superior in college. At 6-foot-3, he does have nice size on the interior, and he ran a 4.95 in the 40 so he has athleticism.’

‘There are some injury concerns as he suffered a torn ACL and a broken ankle in high school, and when he started his career at LSU he again tore the ACL and missed eight games. But after he transferred to Arkansas in 2022 he stayed healthy and put up three outstanding seasons.’

‘The vision could not be clearer: For five consecutive years, the Buffalo defense has played poorly in the playoff elimination game – four losses to the Chiefs, one to the Bengals – and not even the brilliance of Josh Allen could overcome the defensive shortcomings.’

‘The Beane/McDermott regime has unearthed several mid- to low-round success stories, but so have previous Bills’ regimes.’

‘“We thought there would be some good options for us tonight,” Beane said. “We didn’t necessarily think we would need to trade back or trade up, and being patient paid off. I know we usually do trade, or I usually do trade – we had opportunities both ways, but liked what was there.”’

‘The strategy at cornerback is clearly to bring in as many candidates as possible and may the best man win. Now, Strong won’t have much of a chance staring up at first-round pick Max Hairston and veteran free agents Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson, but his goal should be to at least get on the practice squad and spend the season there, then compete for a roster spot in 2026 when White and Jackson will probably be gone.’

‘And he liked Hairston the best, even though there were other intriguing options including Mississippi’s Trey Amos, a player who was projected in the same range as Hairston as a late first-rounder, but also, Will Johnson of Michigan whose injury struggles sent him tumbling from a top 15 pick right out of the first round.’