Brian Gaine wasn’t surprised when he heard how T.J. Parker introduced himself to the Buffalo media.
Parker, the Buffalo Bills’ top draft pick (35th overall), walked into the room and shook hands with every media member before his introductory press conference. Gaine already knew Parker, an army brat, was mature beyond his years — he’s already married — and that his parents raised him properly.
The Bills had many chances to learn about Parker during the pre-draft process. Every prospect meets with every team at the Senior Bowl and each team is allowed 45 interviews at the NFL scouting combine.
That’s pretty much all the Bills needed.
They attended Clemson’s pro day, but didn’t feel Parker needed to be one of the 30 players allowed to visit before the draft, nor did they find it necessary to hold a private workout. The Bills felt more than enough information was gathered.
Buffalo’s area scout Keith Jennings, a former Chicago Bears tight end, is a Clemson graduate. Jennings lives in Clemson and has many resources in the program. The Bills also had more time to evaluate Parker than usual.
Parker could have entered the draft after 2024, but chose to return for another season. NFL scouts aren’t permitted to speak to prospects until their first draft-eligible season, so the Bills had two years worth of information rather than one.
And that offset a decline in production last season, as Parker’s went from 12 ½ tackles for a loss and 5 ½ sacks in 2023 and 19 ½ TFLs and 11 sacks in 2024 to 9 ½ TFLs and five sacks in 2025.
“He checked a lot of boxes for us in the 24-month cycle that we evaluated him,” said Gaine, who served as vice president of player personnel in 2017, left to be the Houston Texans general manager and returned in 2019 before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2022.
“You got to be judicious and selective with the 30 visit candidates that you bring in. … There was nothing we really needed to get to on T.J. … If you just have a question or two, that can be a way it gets into your 45 (combine) choices. With T.J., we did not have those. We felt very convicted on the profile we would be getting.”
Parker also fit the physical profile the Bills typically prefer in an edge rusher. The Bills have often used edge rushers who are 6-foot-6 (like Greg Rousseau) or players with a more sturdy build.
Parker is 6-4 and 263, similar to current outside linebackers Bradley Chubb and Michael Hoecht, as well as former edge rusher Von Miller.
Draft analysts questioned Parker’s first step and explosion to become a major NFL pass rusher. Clearly the Bills view him differently. Even if Parker’s 2025 production declined after Clemson hired a new defensive coordinator, Gaine says any time a player has cumulative production like Parker, they project better at the next level.
Parker’s size, strength and motor should get him on the field immediately on early downs. But he has a well-rounded toolbox that can lead to eventually being a three-down player in the future.
“There’s a level of natural instinct that he has, like with pass rush angles, use of his hands,” Gaine said. “… He’s just got a knack for slipping tackles using his hands and then it’s the angles and fits he takes to close on the quarterback. But he also combines that with a level of strength and power, where he can condense, push and squeeze. It’s not always going to be speed and twitch and quicks. He can use some brute force.”
Gaine also took time with GNN Sports to break down the rest of Buffalo’s draft class:
Davison Igbinosun, CB, Ohio State
• Round: 2 Pick: 62
While the Bills felt strongly about Parker in limited interactions with front office members, they took every opportunity to meet Igbinosun. Buffalo met the Ohio State cornerback at the combine, on a top-30 visit, attended his pro day and also conducted a private workout with him.
Igbinosun’s specialty is press man-to-man coverage and the Bills were a predominantly zone defense under former coach Sean McDermott. Although the Bills extended Christian Benford last offseason and drafted Maxwell Hairston in the first round soon after, new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard brings a new scheme.
“We wanted to get around as much as we could with the new defensive scheme,” Gaine said. “There is some transition, maybe with the types of players, fits of players, what we currently have, what we don’t have. With each step that we took with Davison, we were getting closer to the finish line. And once we got to the finish line, we felt convicted on the person and the player.”
Like general manager Brandon Beane, Gaine called Igbinosun a complement to Benford and Hairston, both drafted to play in McDermott’s defense. He’s longer — 6-3 and 189 — than Benford and Hairston, but the NFL is also still mostly a zone league.
Igbinosun was flagged 16 times in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. Beane felt many of those penalties came in zone defense. But Igbinosun was able to chop his flags to four last year and the Bills feel he can eventually play zone consistently.
“He showed improvement from one year to the other,” Gaine said. “That demonstrates awareness, that demonstrates, to me, coachability, that demonstrates, to us, a growth mindset. He improved as a tackler, he cut down on his penalties, improved his fundamentals and techniques. Those are the kind of things you want to work with because then you get confidence that you can develop the player.”
Jude Bowry, OT, Boston College
• Round: 4 Pick: 102
With the Bills losing Ryan Van Demark to the Minnesota Vikings as a restricted free agent, they needed a No. 3 offensive tackle. Tylan Grable has shown promise, but he’s spent most of his first two seasons on injured reserve.
And the Bills believe Bowry gives them versatility and ability to also play guard, like veteran Alec Anderson. While Anderson was a college tackle who projected better to guard or center in the NFL, Bowry has the traits to play guard, but will start as a tackle, like last year’s sixth-round pick Chase Lundt.
“He can be an either/or player for us into the future, which creates roster flexibility,” said Gaine, who personally attended Boston College’s pro day. “The vision for Jude is he’s not a one-hole player. His chance to accelerate and someday get on the field, it should be, and projectionally could be as an either/or player, all depending on what you have and what you don’t have and what you need.”
Skyler Bell, WR, Connecticut
• Round: 4 Pick: 125
The transfer portal has created some different circumstances over the last few seasons. Transfers are becoming the norm and the Bills have taken 14 since 2023.
Bell spent three seasons at Wisconsin — one with Leonhard as interim head coach — and logged just 69 receptions for 755 yards and six touchdowns in 26 games. He exploded upon transferring to UConn in 2024, totaling 151 receptions for 2,138 yards and 18 scores, including 101 catches for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns last year.
Although it has produced plenty of NFL talent — including Van Demark and Lundt — UConn is an independent, not quite to the level of the Big Ten. Gaine, who attended Bell’s pro day, didn’t think that would be a problem.
Bell showed versatility, not just in the positions he played, but in his skill set. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch in 2024 and 12.7 last year after his role expanded.
“If they drop to a different level of football, what we always try to validate is, do they stand out amongst their peers? and he certainly stood out,” Gaine said. “You can’t ignore that level of production. … He won inside, he won outside. He played slot, he played outside, they moved him around. The play speed, the athletic profile, the person … there’s something to be said for all those things.”
Kaleb Elarms-Orr, LB, TCU
• Round: 4 Pick: 126
Elarms-Orr was taken the following pick and there was a lot of collaboration with Leonhard’s staff over the winter about the types of players needed to fit his defense. Elarms-Orr fits a lot of those parameters.
He ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash and had a 40-inch vertical leap at 6-2 and 234. Gaine believes he has a three-down skill set and could eventually even play middle linebacker down the road.
Elarms-Orr might need some time to get to that level, but he impressed the Bills with his top-30 visit leading up to the draft.
“I think what we added with Kaleb is a guy who’s going to be a good pipeline player for us with a speed upgrade, range, athletic ability, size,” Gaine said. “We get a little bigger, we get a little longer, we’re adding speed to the position. … He can be a (middle or weakside linebacker). So that excites us that he can be a flex player.”
Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina
• Round: 5 Pick: 167
Gaine was stunned when Kilgore was still available when it was Buffalo’s turn to pick in the fifth round. Some pegged Kilgore as high as a second-round pick. But the question was always whether he was going to be a safety or nickelback.
Kilgore was recruited to South Carolina as a safety, but needed him to play nickel in a similar role to what Taron Johnson played for the Bills. Gaine knew South Carolina planned to move him back to safety had he opted to return in 2026.
So the Bills sent safeties coach Joe Danna to South Carolina for a private workout to see him use traditional safety movements. Not only did Danna reaffirm Kilgore’s physical skills — a 10-10 broad jump and a 4.39 40 at 6-1 and 210 — but he was also impressed with his personality.
“To find 6-1, 210, 4.39, long arms, athletic ability, production, versatility — to find that down there in the fifth round, I think, was a unique opportunity for us,” Gaine said.
Zane Durant, DT, Penn State
• Round: 5 Pick: 181
What Durant lacks in size at 6-1 and 290 and arms under 32 inches, he could make up for in a variety of other traits. Durant might have been the most explosive defensive tackle in the draft, running 4.75 in the 40 and possessing a 33 ½-inch vertical jump.
Durant also had impressive production, with 22 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks in 54 games over four seasons at Penn State. Durant also earned the ‘Bills Blue’ moniker this year.
Bills Blue is a designation given to an elite class of player who fits the ideal culture, character and work ethic the Bills are searching for, regardless of draft position. Josh Allen was the first player to earn it and third-round pick Landon Jackson got it last year.
Gaine cited Durant’s character, passion for the game, work ethic, toughness, competitiveness and dependability — what he called a “captain profile.”
“When you see him in person, he’s put together,” Gaine said. “He can play with leverage and play with bend. He closes on running backs, he closes on the quarterback. He can chase plays away and make tackles outside the box. Motor runs hard. So despite being 6-1, 290, he’s got some offsetting qualities and high-end intangibles to help him achieve production.”
Torian Pride Jr., CB, Missouri
• Round: 7 Pick: 220
Pride ran 4.32 at the combine, second-fastest among defensive players. But he’s also only 5-10 and 185. That’s why he went in the seventh round.
If he’s ever to contribute significantly on defense, Gaine feels nickelback is where Pride might be best suited. But the Bills view him as a guy who can play inside and out, much like recently-signed nickelback Dee Alford.
Although the Bills don’t currently regard him as a return specialist, they feel Pride, who Gaine also called a pipeline player, can help them on kick and punt coverages.
“At corner, we’re able to add some size and length with Davison and some speed, quickness and perhaps some role-playing nickel ability with Toriano Pride,” Gaine said. “We felt like we were able to add some versatility and maybe some traits, based on what we have and don’t have in the room with those two selections.”
Tommy Doman Jr., P, Florida
• Round: 7 Pick: 239
There’s no guarantee a seventh-round pick makes the team. Twelve sixth- or seventh-round picks have been cut as rookies since Beane’s first draft in 2018, a testament to roster depth.
But after shuffling through three punters last season, Doman can offer some competition for re-signed veteran Mitch Wishnowsky. Doman served as Michigan’s primary punter in 2023 and 2024 and finished his career at Florida, averaging 43.6 yards per punt during his career.
“When we got to the finish line, Tommy proved to be a draftable-type specialist position and thought he punted well enough to merit consideration where we took him,” Gaine said. “He’ll come in and compete with Mitch and hopefully they’ll push each other and make it a very tough decision.”
Ar’Maj Reed-Adams, G, Texas A&M
• Round: 7 Pick: 241
Reed-Adams spent three seasons playing for former University at Buffalo coach Lance Leipold at Kansas before finishing his career at Texas A&M. He’s another pick considered to be a pipeline player.
At 6-6 and 314, Reed-Adams showed some intriguing traits. He has a 7-1 wingspan and ran 5.28 in the 40, while possessing a 29 ½-inch vertical jump.
“He’s a big man with strength and beef and girth, but he’s got very good length as an inside offensive lineman,” Gaine said. “On top of that, all our due diligence told us that work ethic, character, love and passion for the craft, commitment to football and leadership profile were all strengths of his.”