The Buffalo Bills didn’t have a first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Buffalo traded out of the first round after their third and final trade of the night. The team added some valuable draft capital, getting a second-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and a fifth-round pick in exchange for moving down and out of the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

General manager Brandon Beane got busy, giving Buffalo plenty of draft ammunition in the later rounds by making the deal with the three AFC rivals. In my opinion, he fleeced all three teams with his expert deal-making.

Let’s take a look at the best players remaining for Buffalo, who now hold the No. 35 overall pick after the madness in the first round.

Wide receiver

• Denzel Boston
• Chris Bell
• Chris Brazell
• Germie Bernard
• Ted Hurst
• Malachi Fields

The Buffalo Bills could always use more weapons for quarterback Josh Allen, and there are a handful to choose from. Boston is projected to go relatively quickly, and it was quite a surprise that his name wasn’t called in round one. Perhaps a more likely scenario for Buffalo is to draft a position like linebacker instead with the No. 35 selection and hope a player like Ted Hurst drops to the team with their third-round pick.

Defensive tackle

• Kayden McDonald
• Christen Miller
• Lee Hunter
• Gracen Halton
• Domonique Orange
• Darrell Jackson Jr.

Buffalo needs some defensive tackle presence in the locker room, and fortunately for them, there are still a handful of exceptional players available. It’s a bit of a surprise that players like Kayden McDonald and Christen Miller were still on the board. Instead of a linebacker, Buffalo could elect to beef up the interior of the defensive line by taking one of these names instead when the official selection is in.

Linebacker

• CJ Allen
• Jacob Rodriguez
• Anthony Hill Jr
• Jake Golday
• Josiah Trotter
• Kyle Louis

I’m all about team “draft Jacob Rodriguez” and am over the moon thrilled that he’s still an option with Buffalo picking toward the top of round two. The trade they made on round one put the team in an excellent position to fill out some major team needs, all while netting them a second-round pick that was lost in the trade for wide receiver DJ Moore.

If Rodriguez is on the clock when the Bills are making their official selection, here’s hoping Beane makes the right call and takes care of the middle of his defense with the selection of Rodriguez.

EDGE

• T.J. Parker
• Cashuis Howell
• R Mason Thomas
• Zion Young
• Gabe Jacas
• Derrick Moore

You can never have too many guys getting after the quarterback, and fortunately for Buffalo, there are some good players still available to them if they decide to pull the trigger. Cashius Howell is a big-name to watch out for and has been tied to Buffalo on more than a handful of mocks. With some mocks having him be the team’s official first-round selection. Another big name that fell to the second-round where Buffalo could be the ultimate winner here.

Cornerback

• Jermod McCoy
• Avieon Terrell
• Colton Hood
• D’Angelo Ponds
• Brandon Cisse
• Keith Abney

While it’s not the sexiest of selections, Buffalo does need some cornerback depth on the roster. They have players like Dee Alford to play Taron Johnson’s role in the defense, but in terms of starting cornerbacks, they have Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston. If either of those players goes down with an injury, the depth behind them isn’t fantastic.

Perhaps Buffalo elects a safer route and trades back yet again in the second round to build more draft ammunition so they can take a guy like Avieon Terrell. Either way, there are plenty of options for Buffalo at one of the most important positions in football.

Safety

• Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
• AJ Haulcy
• Treydan Stukes
• Kamari Ramsey
• Genesis Smith
• Zakee Wheatley

I don’t expect them to take a safety with their second round pick, but I wanted to look at the available talent. Buffalo has two starting-caliber safeties in C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Cole Bishop, who will be the anchors of the defense, but once again, we are looking at depth and the future of the position. Gardner-Johnson won’t be here long, so at some point in the draft, Buffalo will need to address the safety position.

I just don’t see it being the second round. If they do, a player like Emmanuel McNeil-Warren would be a slam dunk.