Way too early look at the 2026 draft

[BigAl2526]

I know there are those of you who don't want to think about the draft at all in September.  Hopefully, you didn't even open this thread.  I follow mock drafts all year long.  If you are always interested, like me, this is what I'm seeing. 

 

There could be a bunch of QBs drafted in the first round.  There are up to nine that could go.  I don't think that will happen.  It will be more like 5 to 7.  Presumably, the Bills will be drafting late. hopefully at #32.  If that is the case, there will be a limit to what is available, of course.

 

If you're thinking nose tackle, you can forget it.  There just aren't any.  You might think the Bills could draft Caleb Banks out of Florida, but he's not a nose tackle.  He's actually a lot like Deone Walker.  He could line up anywhere on the line, but he's not the guy you want if you're looking for a guy just to tie up blockers and plug gaps.  If Buffalo drafts a nose tackle, I'm pretty confident it won't be in the first round.

 

Do you want a defensive end?  Depending on who drops, you're looking mostly at big guys who are probably not going to be true edge benders.  Several of them are highly rated based mostly on perceived potential and maybe run defending skills, not big-time sack production.  Dani-Dennis Sutton, LT Overton, Matayo Uiagalelei.  The exception to this list might be David Bailey, often listed as a linebacker.  He is a fast edge bender who is 6'3" and 240 lbs.  

 

Maybe you're thinking a linebacker, if you're thinking the Bills can't depend on Matt Milano to say healthy any more.  There is some variety here.   Anthony Hill Jr has decent size , great speed and has good instincts.  One of the few knocks on him is he can be overaggressive and bite on fakes.  C J Allen is plenty fast and is known as an outstanding run defender.  If you're interested in Tremaine Edmunds 2.0 you might like Sonny Styles.  He's very young, has great speed (sub 4.5) and great size.  He's a former safety who can cover, but he's still fairly new to the linebacker position, so he's still learning.  

 

I think a lot of us think safety is a real position of need for the Bills.  A good possibility might be Dillon Thieneman.  He's very smart, hits hard, has decent size at 6' and 207 lbs.  He has elite speed, running a 4.35 40.

 

So, you want to go offense?  I can't see Buffalo looking at many offensive spots in round one.  There is IMO no chance Buffalo would draft a QB, RB, TE or OT in round 1.  I've seen the argument made that Buffalo could choose not to re-sign Conner McGovern because of cap issues.  If that is what you think, you might be interested in Jake Slaughter from Florida.  The only other position that seems to be any possibility at all is wide receiver.  There are not a lot of possibilities.  Carnell Tate has good size and good speed for his size, which is to say he's not a burner.  Eric Singleton Jr.  is a bit under 6 foot and very fast.  Antonio Williams is the same size as Singleton, but not as fast.  He's still pretty explosive  Then, there is Nyck Harbor, who has Megatron-like measurables (6'5" 235 lbs 4.24 40 - not a typo) but doesn't garner much first round hype.  His production doesn't match his hype, but his technical shortcomings seem like they could be coached up. 

 

Some of these players will get picked before Buffalo has a shot.  Others will drop out of first round consideration while other players rise to take their place, but now, in early fall, this is what I'm seeing.

 

 

[DJB]

This is not the year to go WR its very much a down year and next year has a generational WR in J Smith and elite WR  in R Williams.

 

I also suspect that the Bills want to see what another year for Coleman will do to develop him and we have a lot of $ tied up in Palmer and Samuel. The Samuel contract ends at the end of 2026 and he won’t be back . 
 

The 2027 class is very deep at WR and that’s the time to take another stab at finding an elite #1 guy for Josh. 

[May Day 10]

LB is probably the way to go, unless there is an immediate contributor at S maybe

[NeverOutNick]

5 minutes ago, DJB said:

This is not the year to go WR its very much a down year and next year has a generational WR in J Smith and elite WR  in R Williams.

 

I also suspect that the Bills want to see what another year for Coleman will do to develop him and we have a lot of $ tied up in Palmer and Samuel. The Samuel contract ends at the end of 2026 and he won’t be back . 
 

The 2027 class is very deep at WR and that’s the time to take another stab at finding an elite #1 guy for Josh. 

Every year is a year to take a WR. Maybe not first round but you need to get cheap young good talent to grow with Josh instead of these jag nothings like Samuel and Palmer that we overpay. 

[BigAl2526]

35 minutes ago, DJB said:

This is not the year to go WR its very much a down year and next year has a generational WR in J Smith and elite WR  in R Williams.

 

I also suspect that the Bills want to see what another year for Coleman will do to develop him and we have a lot of $ tied up in Palmer and Samuel. The Samuel contract ends at the end of 2026 and he won’t be back . 
 

The 2027 class is very deep at WR and that’s the time to take another stab at finding an elite #1 guy for Josh. 

I agree with you, but I have to admit I'd be tempted if Nyck Harbor dropped to late in round 2.