2025 NFL mock drafts eyeing defense for Buffalo Bills

Find out who and what positions are being mocked to the Bills in some of the latest national mock drafts

Mock draft season is in-season for 28 of the NFL’s 32 teams. Luckily for Bills Mafia, their attention is currently allocated to a potential Super Bowl run.

As the NFL Draft season begins to heat up, we’ll keep you informed with the latest news on mock drafts, rankings, and prospect profiles. Without further delay, let’s review some of the latest mock-draft selections for the bills.

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ESPN: Mel Kiper’s 2025 NFL Mock Draft 1.0

1st Round: Pick 30

Maxwell Hairston, CB (Kentucky)

Drafting another wide receiver should be considered, and the defensive line could use reinforcements. But the cornerback spot jumps out. Buffalo allowed opponent QBs to complete 68.5% of their passes, 28th in the league, and Rasul Douglas is on an expiring deal. Hairston is a pro-ready prospect. His awareness, burst to the ball and route recognition skills are topnotch. Hairston was a little banged up this season, as a shoulder injury limited him to seven games and one interception. But he had five picks the previous year, showing his ball skills.

Another cornerback with an injury falling to the Bills late in Round 1 (see Shavon Revel Jr. in Dane Brugler’s mock draft from The Athletic). If a talented corner falls to Buffalo late in the first round, it would likely be hard for general manager Brandon Beane not to pull the trigger.

Cornerback certainly is a need for the Bills, especially if Rasul Douglas leaves after this season. If Douglas does leave, I would expect Buffalo to bring in a veteran via free agency.

But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t try their luck with a first-round corner again (Tre’Davious White and Kaiir Elam). It’s too early to tell if some of these first-round corners with injury-plagued 2024 seasons will stay somewhere toward the bottom of the round where the Bills are picking. More info will need to be gathered as the draft process progresses.

Given Brandon Beane’s propensity to find talented defensive backs later in the draft, I still believe the move might be to keep Douglas (or bring in a similar veteran) and then find cornerback help on Day 2 or Day 3. I guess it just comes down to if the best player available when the Bills pick in the first round is a cornerback.

Hairston (6’1”, 186 pounds) will be attending the Reese’s Senior Bowl — a big opportunity for him to improve his draft stock after missing most of the season due to a shoulder injury.

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SB Nation: Joseph Acosta’s NFL Mock Draft

1st Round: Pick 30

Kenneth Grant, DT (Michigan)

When he’s on, Kenneth Grant is a force as a run stopper and provides pop as a pass rusher. Buffalo takes him at 30 to give the Bills some beef up front, banking on his potential as a pass rusher to develop.

The Bills need to get younger and bigger at defensive tackle. Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, and 2024 third-round pick DeWayne Carter are the only defensive tackles with a contract for next season.

Jones is 33 years old and still playing well, but Father Time remains undefeated. Carter will likely see a larger role next season, but they still need reinforcements here.

Luckily for Buffalo, the 2025 draft class seems to have plenty of options. Kenneth Grant (6’3”, 340 pounds) would definitely beef up Buffalo’s DT room. He has uncommon athleticism for his size and has enormous potential.

Grant is mainly labeled as a run stuffer, but has some juice in him to cause issues in the pocket on passing downs. I have a feeling this might be the year of the DT for the Bills in mock drafts.