As the NFL shifts away from the player acquisition stage of the offseason and into preparing for the 2025 season, Friday afternoon offered up the first glimpse of Bills football of the upcoming campaign. It marked the beginning of the team’s two-day rookie minicamp, featuring all of the players the team drafted only two weeks ago.
The rookie minicamp was made up of a total of 51 players — 25 who are on the 90-man active roster, and another 26 who were rookie minicamp tryout invites. The 25 rostered players included the entire nine-player Bills draft class, four practice squad players from 2024, and all 12 of their undrafted free agent rookie signings.
Although it wasn’t a full-team practice, it was the first chance to see the Bills’ initial vision for their newest players. Here’s what stood out from the session.
Maxwell Hairston shows off his speed
When it comes to Maxwell Hairston, the team’s first-round pick, it was easy to see what they liked about him. He’s an effortless mover and can get himself running to full speed from a standstill extremely quickly. As long as head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have been in charge, they have never had a highly-rated boundary cornerback with Hairston’s movement skills and explosiveness, giving them a different flavor to the defense than they have ever had. During positional drills, watching Hairston get out of his transitions, sticking his foot in the ground and driving forward, he was clearly the best athlete among the defensive back group. On top of that, Hairston was highly engaged and talkative throughout the drills. Even when the staff was coaching him hard, Hairston stayed right in it and responded well to their requests, which certainly checks an early box for the first-round pick.
As for the on-the-field portion, Hairston’s day was a bit up and down in coverage. There were some occasions where he played a hunch and exploded toward the catch point to force a contested situation. Other times, he was just a snap of a finger too slow to drive toward the ball. But this early on, those reps should not be a concern. The Bills’ defensive scheme can be complex and take a while to master for boundary cornerbacks, so not being the quickest to read and react on his first day of on-field action is not the end of the world. That sort of thing comes with time, but showing some recognition to push toward the catch point on his first day is an encouraging sign.
Hairston wasn’t the only boundary cornerback of note, as sixth-round pick Dorian Strong flashed some easy-to-see athleticism in a taller frame. Strong being available where he was in the draft was a slight surprise, and he’s someone who has potential as a long-term depth and special teams option. Strong is a bit on the leaner side, which means the Bills are likely going to want him to bulk up a bit with some functional strength to hold up on defense and special teams. With so many boundary cornerbacks looking like a solid bet to make the 53-man roster, Strong’s 2025 future could be as a weekly healthy scratch while the Bills focus on getting more weight on him throughout the season.
T.J. Edwards flashes plus movement ability; Walker not going through team drills
As Day 2 of the draft unfolded, the Bills saw a priority add in defensive tackle T.J. Edwards and jumped up 15 spots to secure him on their team. Edwards, seen as a three-technique by the Bills as his home position, also has the run-defending ability to slide over to one-technique when they need him to. Even with his all-around skill set, the big draw to him was his pass-rushing upside and potential to turn into a three-down player for them. Although you can’t glean too much from defensive line play in a non-padded, non-physical, rookie-only practice setting, the things that carry over are how the player moves. Sanders, even in a bigger frame, looks extremely quick moving laterally when bouncing off one blocker and attacking another. He also did a nice job of keeping the blockers away from his jersey, enabling him to stay clean enough to make those side-to-side moves. The team’s vision for him, both in 2025 and into the future, will be quite intriguing to track as their defensive tackle room evolves.
The Bills double-dipped at defensive tackle by selecting Deone Walker in the fourth round, though they didn’t overload him in his first practice setting with the team. Walker was going through positional drills and the defensive install portion of the day, but during team drills, he stood to the side. McDermott didn’t talk with reporters after practice, so no reason was given. Maybe it’s merely a case of the team working Walker in slowly. However, there was no way you could miss Walker from the crowd, who is a mountain of a human being. By his mass alone, you’d have to guess the Bills would like Walker to train with his home base at one-technique, though only time will tell if his game can translate well enough there.
Landon Jackson is every bit the Bills’ prototype
It was expected that you could see Walker from anywhere around the practice fields, but almost unexpectedly, their third-round pick, defensive end Landon Jackson, has the size and wingspan that makes nearly everyone else on a football field look small. Sixth-round rookie offensive tackle Chase Lundt is listed at a very tall 6-foot-7, and Jackson was at eye level with him every time they took a rep against each other. Jackson is every bit of his listed height of 6-foot-6, and the length he has working in his favor will help make his job a bit easier at the NFL level. The Bills have always favored a certain height, weight, length combination with most of the edge rushers they’ve drafted early, and Jackson is no exception. Given his stature and skills being a closer match to starter Greg Rousseau, you’d have to wonder if the defensive left side might be his best spot initially in the Bills’ scheme. For now, Jackson looked the part and looked solid during team drills on Friday.
Bills already putting a ton on Jordan Hancock’s plate
After an extended wait following their pick of Walker in the fourth round, the Bills used their first of three quick selections in the late fifth and early sixth round on defensive back Jordan Hancock. Immediately after they picked him, general manager Brandon Beane said they’d give him some reps at both nickel and at safety to see where he’s best. That plan began on Day 1 for Hancock.
“Safety, some nickel, so we’re going to see,” Hancock said after practice. “I just want to create value to the team.”
Hancock remarked that, between the two positions, he’d gotten more reps as a slot corner than at safety in college, but he gave a slight hint that he might have a preference between the two.
“Safety is natural to me,” he said before being asked why it comes so naturally to him. “I don’t know. I just like playing safety. So it’s cool, you have more depth just reading plays and things like that.”
Hancock, who played basketball throughout high school and was previously looking to pursue a basketball scholarship, believes it’s that background, most notably in tracking the ball for rebounds, that helped him begin to get a bit of the crossover effect to his abilities as a safety. That multi-sport ability can definitely help play safety in the Bills’ defensive scheme, where they covet instincts and recognition over raw athleticism.
Looking at Hancock’s story at Ohio State, having played all three positions of boundary cornerback, nickel and at safety, and having the multi-sport background, it’s certainly reminiscent of Micah Hyde’s overall skill set when he entered the NFL in 2013. Hyde had similar versatility, similar on-field instincts, along with similar questions about his athleticism as to where his eventual positional home in the NFL would be. And like Hancock, Hyde dropped to the fifth round. This is not to say that Hancock will turn into Hyde, or even come close to the type of career that Hyde had. However, the parallels are, at the very least, interesting, especially if Hancock sticks at safety throughout this cross-training.
Other quick hit standouts
TE Jackson Hawes — The team’s fifth-round pick was as sure-handed as could be during team drills while catching the ball in traffic, showing the ability to make catches outside of his frame. Although Hawes doesn’t offer a ton after the catch, it was an encouraging first showing, considering his role for the foreseeable future is as the third tight end. With that spot on the depth chart, you want dependability above all else in case of injuries.
UDFA WR Kelly Akhariyi — Potentially projecting as either a Z receiver or in the slot for the Bills, Akhariyi was a smooth and easy mover throughout his routes. He worked against some of the team’s drafted corners and won on his reps, while also showing to be strong on the ball. There is some definite ability there, and some real practice squad potential down the line based on raw talent alone.
UDFA LB Keonta Jenkins — A college safety turned linebacker for the Bills, Jenkins certainly needs to get bigger (6-foot-2, 211 pounds) in the NFL, but he’s the type of outside linebacker project that’s seemingly perfect for a first year on the practice squad. Jenkins moved around extremely well on his first day, flashing the natural athleticism the Bills usually look for at that position. Think of it as this year’s version of Lewis Cine, a former safety who the Bills developed at linebacker on the practice squad last year before the Eagles signed him. Jenkins was the only linebacker move they made this offseason, so there is a clear path toward the practice squad if he earns it this summer.
(Top photo of Maxwell Hairston: Matt Stone/ USA Today)