The Buffalo Bills made a big investment in their secondary at the NFL draft, using a second-round pick on Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun and landing what could be a contender for a starting job.
That could deliver a message to another investment at cornerback, 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston. Reporter Alex Brasky of SI.com noted a “concern” for Hairston as he now faces a fight for the starting job that he tenuously held last season.
Maxwell Hairston Facing Position Battle at Training Camp
Though the Bills were high on Igbinosun going into the draft, Brasky wrote that it’s not a strong sign for Hairston that they wanted to make another addition to the cornerback room so soon after using a first-round pick on him last year.
“Elsewhere, it’s not a good sign that 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston has yet to lock down a starting role entering his second professional season,” Brasky wrote. “Injuries thwarted his progress in his rookie year, forcing him miss six regular-season games and a couple of postseason contests.”
Brasky expects a “full position battle” for Hairston, who showed some promise during his rookie year but failed to put together a full campaign.
“Hairston received a Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 68 in 2025, which was solid, ranking 34th among 114 players graded at the position,” Brasky wrote. “He came away with two interceptions and forced three pass breakups. Still, there is plenty to work on in terms of developing the consistency needed to thrive in a starting role at the professional level.”
Brasky noted that Igbinosun is expected to be a more physical player than Hairston, which could give him an advantage under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
“Igbinosun is expected to be a bit more of a physical player than Hairston proved in Year 1, so we’ll see how this plays out,” Brasky wrote. “But at the end of the day, the former 30th overall pick of the draft should have planted his flag by now.”
Maxwell Hairston Earned Praise This Offseason
The Bills acknowledged Hairston’s injury woes when drafting Igbinosun, with general manager Brandon Beane saying the team always needs good depth in the secondary as insurance against inevitable injuries.
Hairston doesn’t appear to be in any trouble with the coaching staff, either, earning some praise from Leonhard back in May.
“We love Max. I was a huge fan of Max coming out of college,” Leonhard said. “We’re not down on any of the corners we have. We needed depth, and I firmly believe you have to be able to rush the passer and you have to be able to cover [receivers], and we needed more depth in the room.”
Leonhard added that he loves Hairston’s motor and coachability, which could give him a leg up going into training camp.
“He’s high energy – all the time,” Leonhard said. “He loves ball, he loves practice. Any little coaching point you give him on a one-on-one basis, he’s really into that. So to me, the energy and the passion about football, and then obviously he’s got high-level athletic traits.”
Bills Face Rising ‘Concern’ Over Performance of First-Round Pick