BILLS LOAD UP ON DEFENSE IN 2025 NFL DRAFT
Defense may not purely win championships in the NFL, but clearly the Bills think they need a lot more help on that side of the ball to get over the hump. Buffalo selected six defensive players of their nine total picks over the weekend, including their first five choices, at the 2025 NFL Draft.
It began with adding to the cornerback room on Thursday night, with the selection of Max Hairston thirtieth overall. Hairston was the fastest corner in the draft, running a staggering 4.28 40-yard dash at the combine, providing the Bills with speed the franchise, by all accounts, has never had before. GM Brandon Beane wasn’t done transforming the defensive backs core, as the third day came along, Buffalo brought in two more players for the backend of their defense. In the fifth round, the Bills selected Jordan Hancock, a nickel corner/safety out of Ohio State with the 170th overall pick. Seven spots later, Buffalo drafted Dorian Strong, a corner from Virginia Tech.
The second most pressing spot the Bills needed to address was the defensive line, as Beane has made it clear that they need to get to opposing quarterbacks with just a four-man rush. After trading up in the second round, Buffalo added a defensive tackle in T.J. Sanders, who was an All-SEC Second Team member last year at South Carolina. One round later, they remained in the SEC and took Arkansas edge rusher Landon Jackson with pick 72 overall. Still looking for some beef in the middle, the Bills selected Hairston’s teammate from Kentucky, defensive tackle Deone Walker, a 6’7 330 pound run stopping machine.
With their remaining three picks, Buffalo added depth to their offense, bringing in a primary-blocking tight end Jackson Hawes, from Georgia Tech, in the fifth round. As football fans know, you can never have too many solid offensive lineman, so the Bills drafted UConn tackle Chase Lundt in the sixth round, before rounding out their nine player draft class with the selection of wide receiver Kaden Prather from Maryland.
The absence of a running back picked all draft by Buffalo gives me confidence that Brandon Beane has little fear of James Cook holding out for a contract extension into the regular season. If it was a legitimate fear of the front office, the Bills would’ve likely brought in a running back, be it during free agency or late in the draft, just to fill that void.
On May 9th, rookie minicamp will begin for the latest drafted Bills and their other camp invitees in Orchard Park. While optional team workouts have begun, official OTA’s are slated to start up in Buffalo at the end of May.
ZUNNER: BANDITS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINAL WITH HISTORICALLY LOW-SCORING WIN
The Buffalo Bandits are semi-final bound after beating the San Diego Seals in the National Lacrosse League’s quarter finals on Friday. Buffalo got the 5 to 4 win, in the lowest scoring playoff game in league history. It’s one step towards a possible three-peat for the Bandits, after having won the NLL Finals the past two seasons.
Friday night’s matchup was a physical one right out of the gate. Bandits star Dhane Smith was put to the ground not once, but twice in the opening few minutes by San Diego’s defensive leader Kyle Rubisch. Buffalo’s Ian MacKay also ate some turf away from the ball, as officials let the two teams play on, without a penalty called until the second half.
MacKay led Buffalo in scoring with two goals and said their two games against San Diego in the regular season, both one goal games that had a different winner, set an expectation for their playoff showdown against the Seals.
“We knew they would pressure and they'd make it hard for us, and, you know, they stood up to that and made it really hard, especially as the game went on,” said MacKay. “Like, obviously, you know, you get tired and that kind of thing. But as the game kind of progressed, you know, it kind of seemed it was going that way.”
While the final score was certainly low, you wouldn’t have known based on the effort and scoring opportunities. Buffalo goaltender Matt Vinc made 48 saves on the night, and Chris Ogilieri made 39 for the Seals. Vinc, who at 42 years-old is in his 19th pro season, is no stranger to big playoff performances. He’s already won three NLL Cups in a row more than 10 years ago with Rochester.
“Every single year you come in trying to win, and it just happens that we won the past two years, but overall, you want to win your final game,” said Vinc. “And hopefully we can put ourselves in a place where we have that chance. You know, we're going to be playing two of the hottest teams in the league. I think down the stretch, both those teams are red hot, and it's going to be challenging.”
The Bandits move onto a best-of-three semi-finals now against the Vancouver Warriors, who eliminated Rochester 15-10. As the Bandits look forward, Head Coach John Tavares said despite the low scoring affair against the Seals, he sees a lot to take away and prepare.
“No matter, like to me 5-4, 10-9, to me it is the same thing. Like, I talk about minimizing mistakes. You know, the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is usually going to win the game,” said Tavares. “And I thought they did a great job of pressuring us and forcing us into turnovers, which we're not accustomed to, and they got a few possessions more than we'd like to. We need to learn how to break a press a little bit more and deal with pressure coming out of that game.”
The Bandits will host Vancouver for game one of the NLL semi-finals at KeyBank Center on Friday, May 2, with faceoff set for 7:30 PM.
SENATORS AVOID SWEEP, MAPLE LEAFS HOST GAME FIVE TOMORROW
The Battle of Ontario is headed back to Toronto, after the Ottawa Senators were able to stave off elimination in game four, with a 4-3 overtime win at home Saturday night.
Ever since the young Senators were taught a lesson on playoff officiating in game one, this series has been just about as even as it could be. The last three games have each gone to overtime, despite Toronto holding a 3-1 series edge.
The Maple Leafs had to fight back to tie game four twice over the course of the game, including late in the third, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his second tally of the series to even the score at three.
Ottawa seemingly handed the game and the series sweep to the visitors in overtime, when Senator forward Drake Batherson caught Chris Tanev with a high stick and drew blood, leading to a four-minute double minor penalty. However, Ottawa’s defense and goaltending from Linus Ullmark kept the high-octane Maple Leaf power play off the scoresheet in the first extra frame.
Just about ten minutes later, after chances were traded by both squads, it was Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson who kept the puck in the offensive zone. With a swift wrister from the blueline, Sanderson’s shot whistled past a screened Anthony Stolarz and found the back of the net for the Senators, winning the game 4-3, and keeping Ottawa’s season alive.
The first round series shifts back West to Toronto for game five, with a chance for the Maple Leafs to punch their ticket to the second round at home tomorrow night at 7PM.
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