With the 30th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select … Maxwell Hairston, CB Kentucky.
Hairston was a popular pick for the Buffalo Bills by mock drafters as his athleticism and ball skills led the most accurate mock drafters to select him more often than not.
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 will have great upside opposite Christian Benford, with veteran leadership behind him in Dane Jackson and Tre’Davious White. He also rocks a great nickname in Mad Max Hairston.
Early Life and Background
Mad Max grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan and attended West Bloomfield High School where he played football, basketball, and track. In his final year, he attracted the attention of college scouts as he demonstrated his athleticism and ball skills early on, recording 16 pass deflections, 3 interceptions, and three forced fumbles in his senior year. He also led his high school team to a D-1 State championship and was voted to be team captain. He received multiple offers as a three-star prospect from D1 schools including Kansas, Virginia Tech, Purdue, Minnesota and Washington State, before finally committing to Kentucky. When he committed, he cited the relationships he was able to build with the coaching staff as key to his decision.
Some fun facts from his high school years that I found interesting are that he was not only an honor roll student, but also was a proud member of the high school choir and loves to sing.
College Career
After redshirting as a freshman and backing up as a redshirt freshman, Mad Max stormed the national stage, compiling 55 solo tackles including 2 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions returned for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also logged 6 passes defended and 1 forced fumble.
During his final year at Kentucky, Mad Max struggled with a shoulder injury, but still managed to play in 7 games, snagging another interception and taking it to the house for the third pick six of his college career. He served as Team Captain and was invited to the Senior Bowl, as well honored by being named 1st Team All SEC Preseason Team, and still managed to make second team all SEC, despite the injury.
After declaring for the NFL draft, Hairston shook the scouting world as he posted a combine best, 4.28 40-yard dash with a 1.5 ten yard split. He also displayed his explosiveness by posting a respectable vertical jump of 39.5″ and a broad jump of 129″.
What He Brings To The Bills
Style
Mad Max was not lacking for personality or style on draft night, wearing a highly complimented suitcoat and seemingly very comfortable in front of a microphone.
He also plays flashy, often high-pointing the football better than the WR he is covering. He allowed only a career 71 QB rating when targeted as the top WR on his team, and playing in the SEC pitted him against some of the top programs in College Football including Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas.
Physical Traits
Watching his tape, his athleticism and ball skills of course lead the way, but he is also surprisingly very tough. He wants to be the first guy to the ball carrier and wants to make every tackle.
He also flashes often by rushing into the backfield, pursuing the runner, but you could foresee certain packages featuring him blitzing off the edge.
He loves to use disguised coverages, where he will make it seem like he is covering a second player in a zone, bait the quarterback into making an ill-advised throw and then jump the route either for an INT or a batted pass.
For the first time in McDermott’s coaching tenure in Buffalo, one of their top CBs is fast-fast. But he’s not mindlessly fast. He operates just as well in zone as he does in man, and plays with intelligence and instinct. His speed helps him immensely when he is playing off coverage and either his assignment drops into a curl route, or throws a double move shake, Mad Max consistently sticks to the inside hip of the receiver, then breaks down on the ball, or uses his closing speed to cover ground on the double move.
Outlook
Mad Max brings a gritty, competitive athletic play style to the Buffalo Bills’ secondary. He is very young still and will benefit greatly from the veteran leadership, not only of Christian Benford, but also Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson. I would not be surprised to see him win the starting job early in training camp, and under the tutelage of the current CB room, he should have a good start to his young career. His ceiling is through the roof as he has prototypical size and speed for what the Bills coaching staff wants from their CBs. With no physical limitations and a wide open runway, the sky is the limit, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him follow in Tre’s footsteps as an All-Pro corner in the league for many years to come. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see.