The Buffalo Bills began their 2026 NFL Draft journey with TJ Parker.
Because the team traded back three time in the first round on Thursday, their eventual top pick was not made until Round 2 at No. 35 overall. The Bills landed on the Clemson linebacker there.
As Buffalo’s top draft pick, plenty of eyes will be on Parker in quick fashion. Because of that, you’ll want to get to know him now.
Here are six things to know about Parker:
More TFLs than games played
The Bills landed a player with at least one impressive statistic on his resume. He played in 39 games at Clemson and had more tackles for loss than games played with 41.5. Parker also had 21.5 sacks.
‘Experts’ split
While he does have those promising numbers, Parker does have NFL draft “experts” split. Some like those numbers and see the potential.
However, others look more toward the 2025 campaign for him. The entire Clemson program took a step back, including Parker. That has created some doubters.
Parker will have some to prove wrong.
Comp to new teammate
An annual tradition of the pre-draft process is comparing prospects to current NFL players. That happened to Parker and one of them was interesting. At The Ringer, Parker saw a comparison to Bradley Chubb, his new teammate in Buffalo.
Army kid
Parker’s father was in the Army for 11 years. Growing up, he moved around a bit but landed on playing high school in football in Phenix City, Alabama. His head coach there was Patrick Nix, the father of Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
Versatile skill set
Clemson put Parker all over the place on their defense. With the Bills moving to a 3-4 front, he’ll be listed as an outside linebacker. But if a 4-3 front comes about, Parker would not have an issue going into a 4-3 defensive end position.
Married man
Parker, 21, has scrubbed most of his social media prior to the draft. Probably a smart move. What has he left? Parker comes to Buffalo as a married man, which makes him come off as a mature individual.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: 6 things to know about the Bills’ top pick TJ Parker
Reporting by Nick Wojton, USA TODAY / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
