Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘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.’

‘Hairston was a second-round projection at the start of the draft process, primarily because he missed five games with a shoulder injury in just his second season a starter. But then he showed up at the combine and ran the fastest 40 time (4.28 seconds) and his 39.5-inch vertical leap was second-best among cornerbacks and tied for 12th among all players.’

‘As you look at the depth chart, defensive tackle is the clear priority. With DaQuan Jones in the final year of his contract, and free agent signee Larry Ogunjobi suspended for the first six games of the season, the Bills have a hole in the middle of their line.’

‘While the Bills have had a checkered past in the first round of the NFL Draft, they have very often struck gold in the second round. Here is a sampling.’

‘“I told my agent, ‘If you can’t get Buffalo on the line, just don’t call me,’” White said.’