When selecting so late in the NFL Draft, as Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has become accustomed to, it becomes difficult to predict which prospects will be available in the latter half of the first round. Of course, as mentioned, this is nothing new for the Bills, who haven't had a top-10 selection since making Ed Oliver the ninth overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.
This time, the Bills don't have a pick until No. 26 in the first round. Most Bills draft projections expect the team to focus on a wide receiver or defender. It turns out, the Bills' evaluators have invested a lot of time exploring a specific position on defense.
According to NFL insider Tony Pauline of Essential Sports, the Bills have done an "extreme amount of work" on off-ball linebacker prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft.
"In my first-round mock draft, I had Buffalo select Georgia's C.J. Allen," Pauline wrote. "I'm told the Bills, who don't have a selection until No. 91 after their pick in the early frame, are doing a lot of work on off-ball linebackers."
Allen has been a common choice for the Bills at No. 26. He is viewed as the second-best pure linebacker prospect behind Ohio State star Sonny Styles and a potential first-round selection after clocking a 4.47 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Bills have a total of seven selections in the NFL Draft, including Nos. 26 and 91. After that, the chances of finding an immediate contributor diminish significantly, but the Bills will still have five chances to find someone who can crack their roster.
RELATED: NFL executive criticizes Buffalo Bills' offseason strategy
