The Buffalo Bills entered last weeks draft with a clear plan: sure up the defense, trust Josh Allen on the other side. This plan manifested itself in the selection of five defensive players in each of the teams first five picks.
The first offensive player selected by Buffalo was a tight end at 173rd overall. The team addressed the offensive line and picked up a lengthy receiver with their last two picks in the 200’s.
Public perception of the Bills’ draft was as polarizing as any I’ve analyzed, with draft grades ranging from as low as a C+ to as high as an A-. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. believes the Bills ‘could regret not doing more’, while Pro Football Focus had extremely high grades on nearly every selection the team made. Overall, based on the grades from seven different analysts, the Bills finished the 2025 NFL Draft with a GPA of 3.1.
Reasoning Behind The Highest Grades Given
One of the highest grades awarded from any source I found came from arguably the most important, Pro Football Focus. PFF is the analytics company that is commonly accepted as the industry standard grading system for player performance across college and professional football. Their grade of an A- majorly hinged on their approval of Maxwell Hairston and the assessed value of safety Jordan Hancock.
“The Bills needed a high-caliber cornerback opposite Christian Benford, and Hairston provides that for them due to his solid tackling ability and good length at the position,” the website wrote. “He profiles well as a zone-heavy cornerback with high-level athleticism. Hancock was the No. 151 player on the PFF Big Board, making this a strong value pick. He earned an 82.2 PFF coverage grade over the past two seasons.”
The next highest grade’s came from NFL.com’s Chad Reuter and CBS Sports’ Alex Trapasso, a B+ and an A- respectively. While Reuter liked the picks, he was not convinced that Buffalo made the most of their 10 picks worth of draft capital. Trapasso, on the other hand, had nothing but praise for Buffalo’s approach.
“The other Day 3 picks represented high-floor depth to make the Bills sturdier on the back end,” Trapasso wrote. “In a draft that many believed had to be defensive-heavy, Beane delivered in a big way with a fine collection of picks.”
What The Critics Had To Say
The Ringer’s Chad Kelly was Buffalo’s biggest critic following day three of the draft, though his analysis wouldn’t show it. He complimented the team’s dedication to stopping the run by praising the selections across the defensive line. He made no mention of the team’s new offensive weapons, but was sure to touch on the team adding three corners.
“The Bills seem to be saying here that the best way to help Josh Allen in 2025 and beyond is to give him a much stouter defense to lean on,” wrote Kelly.
Mel Kiper was the author of the second lowest grade, a B-. He was clearly unimpressed with the teams offensive negligence, hypothesizing that it may age poorly.
“Not taking a receiver until No. 240 was curious,” wrote Kiper. “The Bills’ first five picks went to defense, only the second time in the common draft era they’ve done that (2006). Chase Lundt is a depth right tackle. Jackson Hawes is a blocking tight end. While Buffalo walked away from the draft with some defensive upgrades, quarterback Josh Allen’s unit didn’t improve this month. Buffalo could regret not doing more there.”
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