NFL
No Pass Rush, No Super Bowl? Bills Under Pressure to Deliver in Draft
published: 03-26-2026
Last updated: 03-26-2026
2025 NFL Scouting Combine by Brooke Sutton | Getty Images
The Bills have continued to have one of the NFL’s better defenses, lead often by their secondary, but a primary culprit in their inability to get over the hump in the postseason has been an inconsistent pass rush.
When you ask other NFL execs about their roster again now, it continues to come up, and it’s something they believe will be addressed early in the draft.
Defense, or bust?
Some believe, in fact, that even after signing Bradley Chubb in free agency (from rival Miami), Bills general manager Brandon Beane will be willing to move up the draft board to land a potential impact edge presence if there is a fear such prospects will not be available at their current pick (26th overall).
“They still don’t have enough bite up front,” is how one longtime NFL personnel exec put it.
“Chubb is a nice player, but they have been light in the ass (at the line of scrimmage) and it’s caught up to them. That was by design under (former head coach) Sean (McDermott), but I think that might be changing.”
McDermott was fired despite consistently reaching the postseason and winning at least one game, with former offensive coordinator Joe Brady now the head coach.
The offensive side of the ball is held in high regard, but with McDermott, a defensive mastermind, no longer there, there is an expectation that Buffalo will lean into that side of the ball with its premium draft capital.
“I think they are going defense,” one general manager said who is also picking in the back half of the first round. “Probably front seven.”
A defensive tackle with size and interior pass rush potential would check a lot of boxes for the Bills. A defensive back would be high on their needs list as well. Either would pay over 2-1.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.