Over the past five years, TheHuddleReport.com has collected mock drafts from 172 different media analysts who submit their mocks for the purpose of finding out who is the most accurate. Well-known writers like Lance Zierlein and Daniel Jeremiah have participated, as well as fantasy experts like Jared Smola from Draft Sharks and John Daigle from 4for4.
They haven’t been the best, though. The five best predictors over the last five years include:
- Jason Boris – Times News
- Brendan Donahue – Sharp Football Analysis
- Xavier Cromartie – Fantasy Football Metrics
- Lou Pickney – Mock Draft NFL
- Mike Band – Next Gen Stats
Today, we’ll look at who they predicted would go to the Bills to gain a well-educated understanding of who the most accurate minds in football expect the Bills to take.
Unfortunately, Jason Boris releases his only mock draft on the morning of the draft, so we will audible into the 6th highest drafter instead, Eddie Brown with the San Diego Union Tribune.
Brendan Donahue – Sharp Football Analysis
Brendan Donahue released his latest 1 round mock draft on April 17th.
For the Bills he selected:
Malaki Starks – S Georgia
In our recent 10-pick mock draft, we included Malaki Starks as one of the Bills’ targets the Simulator still had available, though we chose Kenneth Grant over Starks. In Donahue’s draft, he already had both Kenneth Grant and Derrick Harmon being selected in the early 20’s.
About Starks, we wrote:
Standing 6’1, 197 lbs, Malaki is a blueprint for a modern safety. He plays at all three levels of the defense, covers man to man, plays in the slot. He tackles well, has a nose for the football and provides amazing versatility that should make DCs salivate. ProFootballNetwork and the 33rd team compares him to former Titans Safety Kevin Byard. He would provide competition and likely an upgrade able to play across the Bills Zone Defense. Wherever the opponent’s number 1 threat is, Starks could cover him.
Josh – BillsNerd.Blog
Bills Grade – A+ With the talent remaining, Brendan Donahue made a great selection for the Bills, adding competition to an underperforming position group, yet still selecting a great player with high upside at the end of the 1st round.
Xavier Cromartie – Fantasy Football Metrics
Xavier Cromartie released his latest 1 round mock draft on April 14th.
For the Bills he selected:
Derrick Harmon – DL Oregon
Derrick Harmon is one of the most coveted prospects by most members of Bills Mafia, and it’s not hard to see why. At 6’5, 310 lbs, Harmon demonstrated amazing physical gifting and athleticism, measuring with 10 3/8 inch hands, 34 3/8 arm length, an 84 inch wingspan, posting a 4.95 forty. Where he was slow to shine at Michigan State, his transfer to Oregon during his senior year unlocked something in his play. In the 2024 season, Harmon posted 27 solo tackles, including 11 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 4 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumbles recovered. He was in the backfield early and often. He lined up typically as a 3-technique, but has the size and run defense chops to fill in asa 1-technique for this Bills defense, which we hope will spotlight a solid run defender with the ability to penetrate into the backfield. Harmon completely fits the “Bill.” ?
Bills Grade – A+ Whether he knew it or not, Xavier Cromartie made many Bills fans extremely happy with his pick of Derrick Harmon at pick 30.
Lou Pickney – Mock Draft NFL
Lou Pickney released his latest 1 round mock draft on his new website (Congrats Lou!) on April 17th.
For the Bills he selected:
Maxwell Hairston – CB Kentucky
Maxwell Hairston has one of the highest up-sides of any player in the second half of the draft. He is an explosive athlete, having run a 4.28 forty with a 1.50 10-yard split. He leapt for a 39.5-inch vert and a 10’9″ broad jump, both good for 89% percentile in this class. He made his case for one of the best CBs in the draft, throwing up 3 pick-sixes in his career despite only playing 7 games in his senior year due to a shoulder injury. As an outside zone corner, he would fit in nicely with the Bills opposite Christian Benford, with veteran leadership behind him in Dane Jackson and Tre’Davious White. At first, I thought he was cousins with former Bills RB Taiwan Jones, but his cousin, Taiwan Jones, was a linebacker for the Jets. He does have a great nickname as Mad Max Hairston.
Bills Grade – A- | If we were grading in a vacuum, we would give this an A+, but with Michigan DT Kenneth Grant still on the board, selecting Maxwell Hairston unnecessarily challenges the Bills to find essential DL depth in the second round with Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht both being suspended for the first 6 games.
Mike Band – NFL.com
Mike Band released his latest 1 round mock draft on April 14th.
For the Bills he selected:
Malaki Starks – S Georgia
As he was discussed previously, we’ll not add more of our own thoughts, but Mike comes in with amazing connections, and we’ll let him speak for himself.
Did you know? Bills cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae was the primary recruiter who brought Starks to Georgia. In Sean McDermott’s cloud-heavy scheme, smart and rangy safety play is just as vital as strong cornerback depth.
Mike Band – NFL.com
Bills Grade – A+ | There’s no reason to knock this pick. It is notable that Maxwell Hairston was available, but Band keeps it simple and chooses a great prospect for the Bills, with analysis that is absolutely scorching. Like, follow, and subscribe.
Eddie Brown – San Diego Union Tribune
Eddie Brown released his latest 3-round mock draft on March 24th. (It is behind a paywall, but you can view his 1st round here.
For the Bills he selected:
Maxwell Hairston – CB Kentucky
Mad Max again tantalizes Bills fans with a high upside, high need match, landing him with playing time immediately. He’ll look to help be part of the solution as the Bills try to solve the problem of a 25th-ranked pass defense.
Bonus Picks! In the second round, Eddie Brown has them selecting Ohio State DE – Jack Sawyer at pick 56, and Tennessee DL – Omarr Norman-Lott at pick 62
Bills Grade – B+ | Bonus points to Eddie Brown for not only selecting a great CB prospect with most other top prospects already off the board, but also filling needs at DE and DL in the second round. However, demerits taken for Marshall DE – Mike Green still being available, and the Bills not running to the podium to select him. The other top drafters highlighted here all had him going either 15th overall to the Falcons or 19th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
What We Can Learn From The Best Mock Drafters
It seems that the consensus believes that the top DTs will be picked early and often, with most drafters predicting Derrick Harmon and Kenneth Grant being unavailable by the time the Bills pick comes around.
If that is the case, we can fully expect the Bills to go in the direction of DB with either S Malaki Starks or CB Maxwell Hairston.