Just like that, free agency is roaring down the other side of the hill. After the legal tampering period opened for the NFL on March 10 at noon, the rush for teams to fill roster needs in a quest to meaningfully improve their chances for success in 2025 began.
By the time the Saturday immediately after that Monday comes around, most of the top free agents have committed and put pen to paper elsewhere. While the rest of the NFL watchers wait for the final quarterback seats to be filled in this year’s edition of “musical signal-caller chairs,” Bills fans can begin turning their attention to next month’s NFL Draft.
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has been very active in free agency for Buffalo. Not just re-signing previous draft picks Khalil Shakir, Terrel Bernard, Gregory Rousseau, and Josh Allen to extensions prior to their contracts running out, but also signing 12 unrestricted free agents who could choose to sign with any team in the league.
However, a list of needs for the Bills would not be blank — even for the most optimistic of fans. So let’s take a look at some potential early round targets for the team at positions of need:
***note: neither needs nor player lists are ranked, nor are they exhaustive***
2025 NFL Draft cornerbacks for Buffalo Bills to consider
Amos is the apple of many fans’ eye at 30 overall, and Buffalo’s recent addition of previous CB2 Dane Jackson isn’t likely to move them off that stance. Amos has the requisite length, size, and agility to play press if the Bills decide to move in that direction — though some have noted some hip stiffness out of alignment with corners his height.
If the team decides to fully lean into more press principles in 2025, Thomas fits the bill (pun intended) with aggression and excellent technique in the early parts of a route. But he may struggle more when disconnected with the receiver in off-man or at the route break.
One of multiple cornerbacks who went to college in the state of Iowa expected to be taken in the draft, Darian Porter has the most impressive traits of any corner on this list (with a Relative Athletic Score ‘RAS’ of 9.99 out of 10, and is former track star) and the success of Riq Woolen with the Seattle Seahawks may find Porter drafted much higher than Woolen was in the fourth round, but he’s still very new to the cornerback position (he began playing the position in 2022) and needs technique work. He’s also an older prospect.
It feels like every few years there’s a cornerback prospect named Cobee Bryant (the last was Coby Bryant, drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 out of Cincinnati). This Bryant is debated among the draft community as a slot player, though some teams will see him on the outside.
His thinner frame and 31 1/4” arms contribute to that, and the conversation around him mimics that of Amik Robertson from Louisiana Tech in 2020. Bryant unquestionably has that same level of “dog” in him, and will smother and fight every step of the route. He has experience playing both man and zone, and has ball skills to make plays when facing the quarterback.
Zy Alexander might have the best coverage technique of anyone on this list, with the requisite stickiness that teams look for on tape. His athleticism being below average (specifically in change of direction and explosion) and 31” arms will cause some teams to drop him down their boards, wondering if his success will translate to more consistently elite athletes in the NFL, but his ability to put teach tape on all the way through the route and at the catch point will make some team use a day two pick on him.
2025 NFL Draft Edge Rushers for Bills to consider
Nic Scourton
Donovan Ezeiruaku
Princely Umanmielen
Landon Jackson
Kyle Kennard
Scourton may most cleanly check the boxes of any edge rusher on this list, with a high floor created by his motor and mature array of pass-rush maneuvers. His dramatic weight loss for the NFL Scouting Combine (he weighed in at 257 pounds, down almost 30 pounds from his listed weight of 285) will give some teams pause at how he plays in his new body, but even in a heavier frame, both Texas A&M and Purdue (from which his transferred after 2023) saw him play as a stand up linebacker and even in coverage. Scourton’s lack of bend is the biggest question mark in his profile, but it further cements a George Karlaftis-like profile for Scourton.
Donovan Ezeiruaku may get more looks from a 3-4 team than he will from an even front unit, but the lines are so blurry in today’s NFL that teams like the Bills, who until recently didn’t target players of this body type, may decide to make him part of their team. Ezeiruaku is agile and bendy (quickest three-cone among defensive linemen at the combine), but his 240-pound frame and 6’2” height don’t help him when a larger offensive lineman gets into his frame — so disengagement will prove to be a work in progress for him. Playing him at seven- or nine-tech is important to his success to allow high fluidity to shine in space against a tackle.
Princely Umanmielen is a player an NFL team takes with the hopes that his play strength and ability in run defense will grow with time in a strength and conditioning program, while acknowledging that traits like his don’t grow on trees. Being 6’4” and only 244 pounds leaves his frame on the thinner side and makes it harder for him to both generate power in his pass rush and hold up against offensive linemen in the run game, but he comes equipped with great length, excellent bend for his height, and good hand usage when squared up or in a half-man scenario with a tackle on the edge. The traits (8.54 RAS, 33.875” arm length) and production (10.5 sacks in 2024) are too good to last too long in the NFL Draft.
Landon Jackson opened some eyes, including mine, at the combine with fluid field work. A team that draft him on Day 2 will likely look at Jackson as a projection player, with him still growing into his body (he added more than 40 pounds to his frame during his time at Arkansas after transferring from LSU). His lack of bend on tape is part of why many were pleasantly surprised with his work in Indianapolis in front of scouts, but with a 9.88 RAS, 33 1/4” arms, experience taking reps in multiple alignments, and some excellent reps against Alabama in 2023, teams will likely look at him at a player than could be better in the pros than he was in college.
Kyle Kennard is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year/Nagurski Trophy winner/Lombardi Award finalist who transferred to South Carolina after three years at Georgia Tech. He checks all the boxes for physical traits, with 34” arms and a 1.83 10-yard split while standing at 6’4” and weighing 254 pounds. His frame may give teams hope that he could carry 260-265 pounds for added strength while maintaining lateral agility, which will be a focus of his development along with hand usage due to a lack of play strength when attempting to disengage and fight off aggressive and strong offensive linemen. The fact that he played opposite freshman phenom Dylan Stewart during his most decorated year cannot go unstated and may factor into teams’ evaluation of him.
While the cornerbacks and edge rushers might be captured here, we’ll touch on the defensive tackles and wide receivers next week. As we transition into the next phase of the offseason, familiarizing ourselves with the names at positions of need for the Bills will help provide a jumping-off point for our draft opinions.
...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!