The Buffalo Bills traded three times to exit the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23, then turned a thin hand into nine picks over the three-day event. Their first major move brought them Nico Parker at No. 35, an edge rusher the team believes fits the defense it is building.
Parker, 6-3 1/2 and 263 pounds, left Clemson with 21.5 sacks, 41.5 tackles for loss and a school-record six forced fumbles in 2024. The reaction around the pick matched that production. One draft analyst said Buffalo would have drawn the same response if it had taken Parker at No. 26 on Thursday, adding that landing him at No. 35 made it an even bigger win.
The Bills entered the draft with seven picks and some of the lowest total draft capital in the league, a constraint shaped by the earlier trade that sent their second-round pick to Chicago in the deal for wide receiver DJ Moore and a fifth-round selection. That made their ability to leave the first round with more choices than they started with matter as much as the names on the board. Buffalo also is moving to a 3-4 defense, which has created a need for a different kind of pass rusher than the one it had been built around.
Parker was described as a safe pick but a quality one, and one evaluator said he projects as a solid NFL starter in the mold of Jabaal Sheard. That is the kind of outcome Buffalo needed from a class that had to work around limited capital and still fill a real need. The Bills did that again later at No. 102, selecting Jude Bowry out of Boston College.
Bowry has played both left and right tackle and could slide inside to guard, a useful trait for a team with unsettled spots up front and contract and age questions ahead. The versatility gives Buffalo options without forcing an early commitment to one line configuration. It also gives the team a player whose value may be tied as much to what he can cover as where he starts.
Bowry's profile fits the kind of depth move teams make when the board and the roster both demand flexibility. For Buffalo, that matters because the draft was never just about one player. It was about getting out of Thursday with enough pieces to make the rest of the weekend count.
The later picks also showed how the Bills spread their bets. Skyler Bell, who played three seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to UConn in 2024, finished last season with 101 catches for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. Kaleb Elarms-Orr, who played three seasons at Cal before transferring, led the Big 12 with 130 tackles and added 11 tackles for loss and four sacks. In a draft defined by tradebacks and scarcity, Buffalo kept adding bodies, and the early returns suggest the Bills found a pass rusher who can help now and a tackle who can help when the roster asks for it most.
