The Bills selected CB Toriano Pride Jr. out of Missouri in the 7th round of the NFL Draft at No. 220th overall.
The tape and timed athleticism of Toriano suggest he should have maybe been off the board by the seventh round, and he’ll now join a position pool competing for rotation time in the Buffalo secondary.
And he’ll do so as one of the fastest defensive rookies in the league.
The corner clocked a 4.32 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, good for the second-fastest of any defensive player in this year’s draft class.
“My whole position is just off instinct, so running with deep balls and reacting to receivers that are just as fast as me or faster,” Pride said to the media. “(I) just try to translate (the speed) to the football field. It’s all cuts and angles … that’s how the game is played now.”
He was also a track standout at East St. Louis (Ill.) High School with a 7.12 in the 60-meter and 23.68 in the 200. He had a ‘dream-come-true’ draft day that will now see him bringing that motor and more to the pro level.
“This is the best day of my life,” he added. “(It’s) every kid’s dream. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was six.”
He began his career at Clemson, where he overlapped in 2023 with new Bills second-round pick TJ Parker, before transferring to Missouri and the SEC, playing against the best receivers in college football. There, in 18 starts over 26 games and two seasons, the speedster had four interceptions and 12 passes defended.
“It’s always good to go somewhere where you have somebody you know or have been with before,” Pride noted about being reunited with Parker. “It’s great. I’m ready to work with him and get back to our connection we had.”
He’d finish his collegiate career with five interceptions, 16 PBUs, a touchdown, and 82 total tackles in 52 games.
The Bills took steps towards improving their defensive backfield this offseason in moves like signing free agent corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson as well as trading up on Day 2 of the draft to select fellow corner Davison Igbinosun.
Pride carries some commonalities among Buffalo’s 2026 selections. The draft was considered to be more of a B-level talent draft, and Buffalo zeroed in on players who’ve competed in college ranks against current and new NFL-caliber talent, who notably have explosive athletic abilities that might develop and translate at the pro level.
The Bills’ new cornerback was on a 2021 conference-title team (11-3) at East St. Louis with Chicago Bears receiver Luther Burden III, whom he also lined up against in practice every day while at Missouri in 2024.
“I was always around him and was always playing against him in football,” Pride said. “We were competitors. (I) just took in his dog mentality … just going against him in football meant a lot.”
This mirrors Bills selections like TE Dalton Kincaid and S Cole Bishop, who competed in practice at Utah.
Fellow Missouri native and current Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams and Pride have trained together since high school.
“My freshman year, me and Kyren (were) always together. I got to pick his brain with football and film study. I still talk to (him) to this day for tips and stuff like that.”
In addition to his SEC starting experience, Pride offers elite combine numbers, plus special-teams abilities, which will come in handy as he’ll likely see playing time as a rookie on kicking plays and dime packages. With starter Christian Benford, IGB, and other corner competition, Pride will join a number of other new Bills in his draft class, aiming to grow into a rotation role as a cap-friendly and athletic contributor.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Toriano Pride Jr says Bills gave him ‘best day of life’
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
