McShay’s latest has Bills GM Brandon Beane select an enticing player at 30.
Mock Draft season is picking up real steam, with the 2025 NFL Draft just over a month away. The Buffalo Bills have seemingly made most of their move in free agency, not only in hopes of improving the roster but also with intentions on better-positioning themselves during April’s draft.
To say the Bills are set, roster-wise, would be unwise. Beane has done his work to complement a roster dotted by key starters at most positions, but there are a handful of question marks at this point in March.
Is Buffalo truly set at wide receiver, cornerback, and defensive tackle? Some may find such queries about the team odd given recent investments at each position. But it’s false to say that each room would find no benefit from adding better talent — or at least meaningful competition.
Renowned draft analyst Todd McShay understands Beane’s assignment this offseason, and he’s chosen to attack his latest mock draft by sending the Bills much-needed reinforcements on defense. McShay sees Buffalo’s defensive linemen in a state of transition, which is perhaps a polite way of saying that there’s a void to fill.
That’s likely true even with Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones set to reprise their starting roles in 2025. Anyone who watched the Bills in 2024 knows all too well how often the entire defensive line struggled to contain opponents’ rushing attacks.
After signing a pair of free-agent defensive linemen who will both miss the first six games of the regular season thanks to failed tests for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), there may be no bigger concern to start the year than within the Bills’ defensive trenches. Buffalo likely hoped for Larry Ogunjobi to moonlight at 1-tech on passing downs as a sub-package pass-rushing defensive tackle. Now, that plan is on the shelf for at least six games.
Could Beane find a rookie in Round 1 to play the same role? Todd McShay believes that’s the path to take:
30. Buffalo Bills: Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
The Bills are experiencing a transition period along their interior defensive line with a couple veterans (Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson) on their way out. They signed Larry Ogunjobi but he’s facing a six-game suspension. Grant is still developing as a player but his raw traits are undeniable. He’s a quick and powerful 6-foot-4, 331-pound interior defensive lineman who wreaks havoc against the run and has untapped potential as a pass rusher (three sacks and 27 pressures last season). Pairing him up alongside Ed Oliver could change the dynamic of this Bills defense in a good way.
Bills Mafia may shudder at the idea of Beane drafting yet another “still-developing” player, but Kenneth Grant deserves plenty of attention — and he’ll demand it as a rookie. He’s a massive player who should immediately improve Buffalo’s chances defending the run. McShay points out that it’s his pass rushing that needs development. Drafting Grant should allow the Bills to transition Jones into a reserve role, which would undoubtedly help the 33-year-old remain healthier late into the season.
Beane has spent a lot of assets trying to find pass-rushing defensive tackles: from Oliver to DeWayne Carter(2024 NFL Draft), and by the team’s most recent signings in Michael Hoecht (x-factor as a diverse DL/hybrid) and Ogunjobi. Oliver was great in 2023, and good in 2024. We have no idea what will become of Carter after a promising start and disappointing finish to his rookie season. Hoecht is a wild card, and someone who is more likely to spend time at defensive end than inside the line — he’s also going to miss six games for that failed PED test, along with Ogunjobi.
So this may feel like a “need” pick more than a “best player available pick,” but Beane really think hard about their top pick being used to select the best player available at the position with the biggest perceived need. The question to ask is if they have a bigger need elsewhere.
What about cornerback, where Christian Benford (CB1) has not been given a contract extension yet — and where the prospects of recently re-signed free-agent cornerback Dane Jackson or even Ja’Marcus Ingram are in line to play starting CB2? Or, perhaps safety. You’ll find no shortage of fans who view it as an unsettled room even with Taylor Rapps, Damar Hamlin, and Cole Bishop returning in 2025 — and the team signing Darrick Forrest in free agency.
Before the Bills’ pick at 30, a total of seven defensive backs were selected in McShay’s mock, which included:
Travis Hunter (WR/CB) Jahdae Barron (CB) Nick Emmanwori (S) Will Johnson (CB) Malaki Starks (S) Maxwell Hairston (CB) Azareye’h Thomas (CB)
To McShay, that left Buffalo being able to select what he observes as the sixth-best cornerback (or fifth depending how you view Hunter) or third-best safety.
Instead, he saw the better move to make Grant the third defensive tackle off the board (Mason Graham and Derrick Harmon were both gone by pick 21). April’s draft is loaded at defensive tackle, which you can observe two ways: There’s more talent to be considered early; there’s every reason to wait until later.
We saw what happened when Beane selected cornerback Kaiir Elam. We’ve also seen what Buffalo accomplishes by drafting guys “under the radar” later on Days 2 and 3. Beane needs to find a strong draft class this year, and immediate-impact players within the first couple rounds.
Everything starts up front in the NFL, and the Bills need to figure out how to hold their own and then some. McShay provided one bonus pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 34 (who made a trade with the New York Giants in Round 1), sending cornerback Trey Amos to the NFC South.
Grant is a player who’s been sent to One Bills Drive in several early mocks shared here at Buffalo Rumblings.:
Grant is also someone who stood out in B.J. Monacelli’s post-NFL Scouting Combine analysis on defensive tackles. Knowing who was selected ahead of the Bills and the long list of available players overall, what would you have done at pick 30? Does Buffalo passing on Amos in favor of Grant concern you?