The Buffalo Bills have become accustomed to leaning on their franchise quarterback, Josh Allen, but another postseason loss in 2025 means they need more from the rest of the team. The Bills could be looking to lean toward defense in the 2026 NFL Draft, and that could start with UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence.
Why the Buffalo Bills Could Draft Malachi Lawrence for a Defensive Boost
In Buffalo, as long as Allen is on the field, there is a sense that victory won’t be too far off. However, that magic hasn’t willed the franchise back to the Super Bowl in Allen’s career yet. The 2024 NFL MVP has shown the ability to lift the team to impressive heights, but Allen will need more defensive help to get over that hill in 2026.
According to Ryan Moran of PFSN, the Bills are going to bulk up the talent on defense by drafting Lawrence with their 26th overall pick.
“Malachi Lawrence can provide the Buffalo Bills with an athletic pass-rushing presence off the edge that they need,” Moran predicts in his three-round mock draft. “New defensive coordinator Jim Leonard is coming from a team that had elite speed rushers in Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper.”
“Lawrence is explosive, as shown by his 40-inch vertical and 10-foot-10 broad jump at the Combine. His speed was also evident in his 4.52 40-yard dash and 1.59 10-yard split. In 2025, Lawrence recorded 7 sacks.”
While the Bills were ranked first in the league in pass defense, their rush defense wasn’t nearly as impressive (28th in the NFL). Lawrence would be expected to literally hit the ground running if Buffalo spent a first-round pick on the edge rusher, and that includes adding to their sack totals.
Buffalo was middling at bringing down the quarterback in 2025. The Denver Broncos led the league with 68 sacks; for comparison, the Bills were 20th with 36. If Moran is correct, Lawrence could end up being a valuable defensive piece on a team that has sky-high expectations.
Lawrence is using his 20-sack college career, along with an exceptional combine, to hopefully make him a first-round selection. He is the only edge rusher who had a top-three positional result in the 40-yard dash (4.52), broad jump (10 feet, 10 inches), 10-yard split (1.59), and the vertical jump (40 inches).
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The official NFL site ranked Lawrence’s combine performance as first in the edge rusher group, with a brilliant Athleticism score of 86. The Bills won’t be the only team that recognizes Lawrence’s eye-popping numbers, but the question is which NFL franchise will be the one to decide he is the game-changer they need.
Allen can’t be expected to shoulder the entire team every single season, and if Lawrence can help the Bills bring some defensive balance to a talented team, it will have been a pick well spent.
