The Buffalo Bills’ window to win will remain open for as long as Josh Allen is playing like an NFL MVP candidate.
But Buffalo’s defense continues to be its Achilles heel in getting to the Super Bowl. The Bills have been ousted by the Kansas City Chiefs in four of the past five seasons and are allowing 33.2 points per game in their five postseason defeats since 2020.
So naturally, Buffalo will again pick at the back end of the first round, No. 30 overall, for the first of its 10 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Many of the NFL’s most informed mock drafters agree that Buffalo will be targeting defense with their first-round selection. Here are a few players that could end up in Western New York after Thursday’s opening round is complete.
Buffalo Bills Potential First-Round Draft Picks
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Starks is a popular late-first round projection for a lot of teams, since he was rated the No. 2 safety in the combine while also having time to spent playing corner.
Starks started 42 games at Georgia and was a first-team All-American in 2023 but made second-team All-America and all-SEC in 2024. He played some at nickel cornerback in 2024 and recorded 77 tackles, yet regressed in pass-coverage stats, interceptions (3 in 2023, 1 in 2024) and pass breakups (7 in 2023, 3 in 2024).
But the Bills would be getting an electric and versatile defensive back if they choose Starks at No. 30. With Buffalo re-signing oft-injured, yet franchise icon Tre’Davious White, it could use another solid secondary player, which is why both Peter Schrager of ESPN and Dane Brugler of The Athletic projected Buffalo to land Starks at No. 30.
Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
The signing of White may preclude the Bills from taking a cornerback in the first round, but Hairston is a speed demon, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any player at the combine (4.28). But Hairston isn’t just speed, since he had six interceptions over the past two seasons and returned three for touchdowns.
The Bills pass defense gave up the 24th-most passing yards per game (226.1), a consequence of playing from ahead and a suspect secondary. If Buffalo doesn’t want to select a safety, it could opt to add depth to its coverage outside.
Trey Amos, CB, Ole Miss
Amos isn’t quite the burner that Hairston is, but he still has solid speed at 4.43 40-yard dash. Plus, what he lacks in speed, Amos makes up for in size, since at 6-1, he is on the taller side for cornerbacks and could beef up from his 195-pound weigh in.
Amos was a first-team All-SEC cornerback and had 13 pass breakups and three interceptions in his lone season in Oxford. He started at Louisiana-Lafayette then transferred to Alabama for one season before landing at Ole Miss for his final season.
Again, Buffalo’s pass defense has some holes that need to be filled, especially at cornerback, since White is a veteran, Taron Johnson is more of a slot corner and Christian Benford was a sixth-round pick who has become Buffalo’s top corner almost by default.
