{"id":596430,"date":"2026-04-09T20:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596430\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:48:10","slug":"should-the-bills-2026-nfl-draft-focus-be-dexter-lawrence-or-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596430\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the Bills\u2019 2026 NFL Draft focus be \u201cDexter Lawrence or bust\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bills fans and fans across the country. Sign up here<\/a> to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.<\/p>\n

The Buffalo Bills are one of several teams where analysts aren\u2019t quite certain how their front office should approach the 2026 NFL Draft. There are obvious arguments to make regarding filling out the roster with the type of talent that best fits first-time head coach Joe Brady and first-time defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.<\/p>\n

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With regard to Brady, the belief is that most of the offensive pieces are in place other than continued questions at wide receiver. Things become far less clear when the conversation switches to Leonhard and Buffalo\u2019s expected switch to a base 3-4 defense filled with personnel nuance.<\/p>\n

In considering both halves of the above equation, it\u2019s worth wondering what makes the most sense in the upcoming draft. Is it best to simply sit still, leveraging the picks laid out (or perhaps even landing more picks via a trade back or two)? That may allow the Bills to tackle several positions in a draft believed to be deep in early mid-round talent.<\/p>\n

No matter what One Bills Drive decides to do, this year\u2019s draft carries massive weight for Brandon Beane \u2014 who\u2019s now been named president of football operations in addition to his continued role as the team\u2019s general manager. The pressure to get things right, and to introduce a group of rookies who can impart meaningful impact on a roster in need, has never been more urgent for Beane.<\/p>\n

If it feels as though Buffalo re-makes its defensive line each offseason under Beane, that\u2019s because it\u2019s essentially true. That expected scheme switch under Leonhard may actually usher in the biggest change to the defensive line in the last decade. Even void of such change, there have been plenty of critics calling for moves to be made in an effort to help repair a shoddy run defense. Is scheme enough the route to lasting change? That\u2019s unlikely without adjusting personnel.<\/p>\n

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Enter defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who last season played nose tackle for the New York Giants. Lawrence is unhappy in New Jersey, and he\u2019s requested a trade. After unsuccessfully securing a new deal the last two offseasons, Lawrence is ready to move on to a new team, and a more lucrative deal.<\/p>\n

Though he has played much of his career in a 4-3 system, Lawrence does have experience in a 3-4, as noted above. But worrying about how Lawrence would fit with a team in need such as the Bills is not the hill to die on. He\u2019d fit, and play well alongside defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Deone Walker. The concern is more about what Buffalo has to do to land him, and if they can do so while being cap-responsible.<\/p>\n

This is where you enter the equation, fellow Rumblers. For the purposes of this poll, let\u2019s imagine that the Bills could make things work with Lawrence\u2019s current deal \u2014 they\u2019d find a restructure that makes sense (say, Dion Dawkins) in order to fit his current deal under this year\u2019s salary cap.<\/p>\n

Should the Bills trade for Dexter Lawrence? Are you team \u201cyes\u2019 regardless of Buffalo\u2019s first-round pick, or only if it doesn\u2019t involve pick 26? Instead, are you more invested in the idea of the Bills retaining draft assets to add rookie talent \u2014 because, draft picks are too valuable (even for someone like Lawrence)? Or, even though they find a way to fit Lawrence under the cap in this imaginary scenario, is the cost to sign Lawrence to a new extension too great for Buffalo to consider?<\/p>\n

Vote now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,282779,42498,1261,44328,123121,55397,30316,265444,94984,221247,6778,1242,593,1262,85,19864],"class_list":{"0":"post-596430","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-brandon-beane","11":"tag-buffalo","12":"tag-buffalo-bills","13":"tag-defensive-line","14":"tag-deone-walker","15":"tag-dexter-lawrence","16":"tag-dion-dawkins","17":"tag-east-rutherford","18":"tag-ed-oliver","19":"tag-jim-leonhard","20":"tag-new-jersey","21":"tag-new-york-giants","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","24":"tag-sports","25":"tag-the-bills"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596430","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=596430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}