One Bills draft decision still raises questions entering camp

This is the seventh in a 10-part series of questions facing the Buffalo Bills as they head into training camp at St. John Fisher University.

After Brandon Beane was finished tap dancing his way out of the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, he wound up with the 35th overall pick early in the second, and when it came time to finally make a selection, he had a bevy of opportunities to fill what seemed like an obvious need.

With linebackers Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson off the team and testing free agency (neither player has yet been signed), Beane could have taken Jacob Rodriguez, Josiah Trotter, Jake Golday, CJ Allen or Anthony Hill, all players who would eventually get picked before the end of the second round.

Instead, in the never-ending pursuit of pass rush help, he went with outside linebacker/edge rusher T.J. Parker and waited until the fourth round to bring in competition for inside linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams in the form of Kaleb Elarms-Orr.

Bills linebacker depth a concern

At the time it didn’t feel like the prudent play. Bernard was coming off an injury-plagued 2025, but before that in 2024 he took a small step back from his excellent 2023 performance when he was a first-time starter.

And Williams has spent his first three seasons in Buffalo as a somewhat inconsistent backup whose 22 starts have only come because of injuries to Milano or Bernard. Also, Williams is heading into the final year of his original rookie contract, so the inside linebacker position in Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 base defense was ripe for help.

Now, maybe Elarms-Orr winds up being a steal in the fifth round and he either beats out Bernard or Williams as a starter this season, or at the very least becomes Williams’ replacement in 2027, assuming Williams isn’t re-signed. But for this year, the Bills are skating on thin ice with only Elarms-Orr, Joe Andreessen, Keonta Jenkins and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles as viable depth chart options.

Excluding Bernard and Williams, those other four have a combined 13 NFL starts, 10 by Flannigan-Fowles who like Andreessen has primarily been a special teams contributor in his six-year career.

A return to form and good health from Bernard is vital and would quell some of the concerns about the position group, and the switch to Leonhard’s defense might be just what he needs.

“I think there’s certain things that fit my play style and things that I’m good at which I’m excited about,” Bernard said. “At the end of the day it’s football and the position is the position, but I feel like there’s certain things that I’ll be able to play within my game and execute a little bit.”

Terrel Bernard believes the new defense fits his strengths

Specifically, Bernard thinks he can use his athleticism in a more productive way as a man-to-man cover linebacker who can also be sent on blitzes, something he did frequently in 2023 but not much the last two years.

“He’s a pro,” Leonhard said after getting a look at Bernard during the offseason program. “Everything in the classroom, the meetings, the communication, the focus level he has. It’s really impressive to see every day. As he continues to get healthier, we know what he is on the field. He’s a person that you know what he can do and half of it is the leadership, the intangibles as far as communication on the field, in between series. He kills that. Full go at camp is what we expect.”

Williams missed a chunk of the OTAs with an undisclosed injury, one that had him on crutches. Having studied his film, Leonhard knows Williams is an outstanding and physical athlete, and now the trick will be to find consistency on a play-to-play basis, especially when he’s in coverage.

“Dorian’s a guy that’s going to have an opportunity to make a huge impact in this defense,” Leonhard said. “How comfortable can they get? How fast can they get comfortable to where they’re just flying around and playing with violence, playing with physicality? That’s the big test from now to training camp.

“He’s a guy … fresh start, new defense, putting him in some different positions to show his versatility and his leadership more than anything. Being that every-down backer for us, I’m excited about his start and just want to continue to grow. My goal in the offseason was really to overload and throw as many things at him as possible. Make him uncomfortable and force communication.”

Will the Bills add linebacker help before Week 1?

Depending on how camp goes, and what the health situation looks like, there’s certainly a possibility that Beane reaches out to Thompson, a veteran he has a long history with and one who joined the Bills last season and became a key player once Bernard went down.

A reunion with Milano seems less likely, especially since he really took a step back in performance last year, but hey, you never know.

Or, hey, maybe the Bills will be just fine and they’ll roll with what they have and that might work out fine if Bernard returns to form, Williams pounces on his opportunity, and Elarms-Orr flashes the wide-ranging skill set he showed in college at TCU.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: One Bills draft decision still raises questions entering camp