{"id":591668,"date":"2026-04-07T17:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/591668\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:25:10","slug":"bills-land-massive-run-defender-in-new-2026-nfl-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/591668\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills Land Massive Run Defender in New 2026 NFL mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even after adding talent during NFL free agency, the Buffalo Bills<\/a> entered their voluntary offseason workouts with a couple of needs.<\/p>\n

The Bills added DJ Moore to boost their receiving corps<\/a>, but could use some more help in that area. They also signed pass rusher Bradley Chubb, but their rotation is limited behind him and Greg Rousseau.<\/p>\n

There are also needs at linebacker and defensive tackle, especially since Buffalo hasn\u2019t re-signed linebackers Shaq Thompson<\/a> or Matt Milano as well as defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.<\/p>\n

Naturally, these are the positions most often targeted in mock drafts. That\u2019s the case for a new mock from ESPN\u2019s Peter Schrager, who selects Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald at No. 26 overall.<\/p>\n

\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a>Round 1, Pick No. 26: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State\"Ohio<\/p>\n

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Kayden McDonald (98) celebrates during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers. | Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Schrager admits this might be high for McDonald, but believes the first-round hype surrounding the defensive tackle. His addition would help a Buffalo defense that struggled to stop the run.<\/p>\n

\u201dThis might be the highest you’ll see McDonald going in a mock draft at the moment, but I’m hearing significant first-round buzz on him. A massive run defender, McDonald would be a good fit in Buffalo, where the Bills ranked 30th against the run last season (5.1 yards allowed per carry),\u201d Schrager wrote.<\/p>\n

McDonald had some big shoes to fill in 2025, which was his only season as a full-time starter. After Tyleik Williams went to the NFL, McDonald took his place. To McDonald\u2019s credit, the defense continued to roll with him in the lineup.<\/p>\n

Kayden McDonald knows how to get to the ball carrier \"Ohio<\/p>\n

Ohio State Buckeyes DT Kayden McDonald reacts before the 2025 Big Ten championship game against the Indiana Hoosiers. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2, 326-pound McDonald had 65 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and three sacks.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t offer much as a pass rusher, but McDonald was praised by NFL.com draft guru Lance Zierlein for his high tackle volume<\/a> and ability to rack up tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cA talented run defender, McDonald plays with natural leverage and rattles pads with his initial contact. He\u2019s quick to locate ball-carriers, play off of blocks and rally to the action. His technique is a bit underdeveloped and he\u2019s not a natural drain-clogger against double teams, but he still managed an unusually high tackle rate as an interior defender,\u201d Zierlein wrote. <\/p>\n

\u201cQuicker hand strikes should allow for more efficient reps and earlier wins at the point. He offers limited rush value, so his money will be made by giving grief to centers and guards as an even-front nose tackle with starting potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up to our\u00a0free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for the latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even after adding talent during NFL free agency, the Buffalo Bills entered their voluntary offseason workouts with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":591669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-591668","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}