27. Buffalo Bills: Princely Umanmielen, DL, Ole Miss
After going neck and neck with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC over the last four or five years, the Buffalo Bills had to do a bit of a reset in the 2024 offseason. So many notable names are no longer on this roster and Buffalo is really counting on coaching and Josh Allen to lift this team while they get a bunch of new faces acclimated.
When you hit reset as a franchise on the roster, you’ve got to emphasize rebuilding and loading up in the trenches. If you can raise the floor on the offensive and defensive lines, you can hang in most every game. The Bills do exactly that with this pick by taking Ole Miss defensive lineman Princely Umanmeilen, a Florida transfer who had 7.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss last season.
He can play the traditional defensive end position on a four-man front as well as move inside on passing downs.
28. Cincinnati Bengals: Patrick Payton, EDGE, Florida State
The Cincinnati Bengals are poised for what they hope is a bounce-back season in 2024 after struggling with injuries last year, including to quarterback Joe Burrow. This team has invested heavily in the offensive line in 2024, and rightfully so. The time to invest heavily in the defensive line may be in 2025, especially off the edge.
Not only is the 2025 NFL draft class looking really good off the edge but the depth all over the defensive front should excite teams with needs in those areas. The Bengals have had to navigate star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson requesting a trade around the time of the 2024 NFL Draft and we’ll see if he’s around beyond this year.
Either way, getting a player like Patrick Payton off the edge would give the Bengals another player to add to the rotation and make an immediate impact in a sub role while developing into a full-time starter.