ORCHARD PARK – Because the Buffalo Bills are the only team in the NFL to qualify for the postseason in each of the last seven years, president/general manager Brandon Beane has grown accustomed to waiting several hours to make his first pick in the NFL Draft.
The festivities begin Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and Beane, new head coach Joe Brady, and the rest of the Bills’ hierarchy hunkered down in their war room will once again have their patience tested as they aren’t scheduled to make their first pick until No. 26.
Teams certainly don’t ever want to be picking in the top 10, but obviously, picking where the Bills annual do makes hitting home runs in the first round a little challenging, especially in this draft which most analysts believe is lacking in top-level talent.
“I’m not making excuses, but it’s just hard to find those (All-Pro level) guys where we pick every year, and I also know I haven’t been perfect,” Beane said.
Since 2020, the earliest the Bills have picked in the first round was 2022, the ill-fated year when they whiffed on Kaiir Elam at No. 23.
They had no first-rounder in 2020 thanks to Beane’s trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, nor did they have one in 2024 after he traded back twice and eventually settled for the first pick of the second round, No. 33. In the other three years, they picked 30th in 2021 (Greg Rousseau), 25th in 2023 (Dalton Kincaid), and 30th in 2025 (Maxwell Hairston).
“I’m going to have it ranked one to 26, no matter how the board falls, but no, I don’t have anywhere near 26 first-round grades,” Beane said. “We’ll be ready no matter what and we’ll make decisions whether we think to trade up, take the pick, or trade back.”
Track the Bills, and the rest of the league, through every development in the first round with live updates, reaction and analysis centered on Buffalo’s picks, priorities and draft‑night strategy.
Setting the stage in the media room
It’s a big night in Buffalo as the NFL Draft begins, and the Buffalo Sabres are in Boston for Game 3 of their Stanley Cup first-round playoff series. And for a certain Bills beat writer who is also a Yankees fan, they’re also in Boston playing the Red Sox, so there’s some serious multi-tasking going on.
So, as you can see in the photo, the TV in the upper left is tuned to the draft, the big screen in the middle is on the Sabres game, and my own iPad has the Yankees game.
Red Carpet photos from NFL Draft
Buffalo Bills draft picks 2026
What time will the Buffalo Bills pick tonight in Round 1 of the NFL Draft?
The Bills are expected to make their first-round selection around 10:15-10:30 p.m. ET. The NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, meaning the Bills’ pick will come roughly two hours into the first round.
First round options for Buffalo Bills
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills draft live updates and analysis as first round unfolds
Reporting by Sal Maiorana and Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
