Buffalo is one of the few teams in the NFL that hasn’t gotten any help from its 2025 first-round pick. However, that may change soon. Head coach Sean McDermott said the Bills could open injured rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston‘s 21-day practice window, though he didn’t indicate when that might happen (via Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic).
The Bills, now on a bye week and in the middle of a two-game losing streak, saw Hairston go down with an LCL injury early in training camp. They placed the former Kentucky Wildcat on IR in late August, setting up at least a four-game absence. Buffalo has now gone six games without Hairston, and though the team is 4-2, its defense hasn’t played particularly well. The secondary has been part of the problem.
If Hairston does take the field this year, the speedster could wrest playing time away from No. 2 cornerback Tre’Davious White. He and White would have competed for the job during the summer if not for Hairston’s injury. Both White and No. 1 corner Christian Benford have underwhelmed this season. It’s less surprising in the case of White, a 30-year-old who tore his ACL and his Achilles in recent years. Benford’s dropoff has been more concerning in the wake of the four-year, $69MM extension he signed in the offseason.
Regardless of whether Hairston emerges as a starter this season, he should at least improve Buffalo’s depth. Rookie sixth-rounder Dorian Strong, who worked as the Bills’ No. 3 boundary corner during the first few weeks of the season, could be done for the year with a neck injury. Thanks to the absences of Hairston and Strong, the team is down to Ja’Marcus Ingram as its top boundary option behind Benford and White.
The Bills are also dealing with issues up front, where starting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones is likely to miss time. Jones popped his calf during pregame warmups on Monday, leading him to sit out a loss to the Falcons, and was in a boot afterward (via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com). Jones is tied for the team lead with two sacks, and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks his 2025 performance 19th among 122 qualifying defensive tackles.
The Bills are already without another D-tackle in rookie second-round pick T.J. Sanders, who went on IR last weekend, though fourth-rounder Deone Walker shined in the Atlanta game. Unless Jones makes a quick recovery, Walker and Ed Oliver will serve as the Bills’ main options at tackle coming out of the bye. The Bills could also reinstate veteran Larry Ogunjobi from a six-game PED suspension beginning in Week 8.
Regardless of who’s in the lineup when Week 8 rolls around, it doesn’t appear the Bills will make any changes to their defensive staff. While McDermott was a longtime defensive coordinator before the Bills hired him in 2017, he said that he’s not considering taking play-calling duties away from DC Bobby Babich (via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News). In his second year on the job, Babich’s group ranks 10th in the NFL in sacks, 17th in points, 19th in yardage, and 22nd in third-down conversion rate. He’ll get a chance to right the ship after the bye.
Babich is the biggest problems. The penalties and missed tackles are getting out of hand and show a lack of discipline and fundamentals. He should be on a very short leash.