The Buffalo Bills have plenty of needs heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
Wide receiver remains a major need. Buffalo will need to add some upgrades to the position via free agency or the draft. The Bills could also lose two offensive linemen in free agency. Buffalo has Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and other depth options on their roster, but adding via the draft is another possibility.
And don’t forget the defense. With Jim Leonhard taking over as defensive coordinator, Buffalo could be looking for new faces at all three levels of the defense. The team will likely have to adjust on the fly to add players who best fit his scheme.
Free agency will help dictate Buffalo’s biggest needs in the draft come April, but draft experts will make their best projections for the Bills between now and then. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, for instance, has the Bills going wide receiver in Round 1 of his latest mock draft. The pick? Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields, a receiver who is flying up draft boards after an impressive Senior Bowl week.
The Bills add a player with a wide catch radius to complement Khalil Shakir at receiver," Jeremiah wrote. “Fields was excellent all week long at the Senior Bowl.”
Fields is an intriguing option. The receiver’s size (6-feet-4-inches) is intriguing, as is his NFL comparison. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein listed Michael Pittman Jr. as Fields’ pro comparison.
Here is what Zierlein wrote about Fields:
Boundary “X” receiver who uses elite size and strength to bully defensive backs. Notre Dame’s run-heavy approach and quarterback play slowed Fields’ production somewhat but his tape was filled with impressive moments. He’s best suited for an offense that allows him to get from Point A to Point B while using his frame/ball skills to dominate the work space and win in the air. He can be a slow starter versus press and lives on contested targets, but he moves the chains on tight-window throws and consistently tilts 50/50 balls in his direction outside the numbers. Fields might never be a star, but his traits, playing style and ball skills should make him a productive WR2 in time.
The Senior Bowl helped Fields’ draft stock. Before the college All-Star game, Fields was viewed as a day two or early day three prospect.