Apr 24, 2025; Maxwell Hairston speaks after being selected by the Buffalo Bills as the number 30 pick in the first round. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Bills' post-draft defensive ranking vaults them past Chiefs but behind lurking AFC rival

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Brian Letscher | Last updated May 7, 2025 4:01 PM ET

Despite the NFL's push to give offenses every opportunity to score more points, defense still wins championships. Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that smothered Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in last season's Super Bowl, giving up just 22 points, 16 of them when the game was well out of reach.

The Buffalo Bills' defense finished 2024-25 ranked a mediocre 17th overall — a season that ended with giving up 32 points to those same Chiefs in the AFC championship game loss.

General manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott, a former defensive coordinator, clearly knew they needed help on defense if they wanted to reach the Super Bowl, using their nine picks in the 2025 NFL draft as an opportunity to shore up that side of the ball.

Beane and McDermott used the first five picks on defense and six of nine total picks, strongly addressing needs at cornerback and defensive line -- both interior and EDGE. All of this attention on the D has Gary Davenport of The Bleacher Report ranking Buffalo at No. 3 overall in the NFL -- a big leap from last season.

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"The secondary got addressed first in the draft in Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston, but from there Beane hit the defensive line—hard," Davenport writes, "Buffalo traded up for interior lineman T.J. Sanders. Brought in edge-rusher Landon Jackson in Round 3. And made it three D-Linemen in a row in Round 4 with tackle Deone Walker."

A rejuvenated, disruptive defense is exactly what the Bills need to compliment an offense led by MVP Josh Allen that averaged over 30 points per game. It could put them over the edge against long-time rival Chiefs, who came in at a very respectable No. 9 in the rankings. It's another AFC West team that tops the list though, a team the Bills beat handily in last season's Wild Card playoff game — the Denver Broncos.

Bills' 2025 NFL Draft Picks

Round 1 — CB Max Hairston, Kentucky (No. 30 overall)

Round 2 — DT TJ Sanders, South Carolina (No. 41 overall) (from CHI)

Round 3 — DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas (No. 72 overall) (from CHI)

Round 4 — DT Deone Walker, Kentucky (No. 109 overall) (from CHI)

Round 5 — CB Jordan Hancock, Ohio State (No. 170 overall) (compensatory) (from DAL)

Round 5 — TE Jackson Hawes, Georgia Tech (No. 173 overall) (compensatory)

Round 6 — CB Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech (No. 177 overall) (from NYG)

Round 6 — RT Chase Lundt, Connecticut (No. 206 overall)

Round 7 — WR Kaden Prather, Maryland (No. 240 overall) (from CHI)