The Buffalo Bills added to their secondary and selected Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston with the 30th pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
A two-year starter with the Wildcats, Hairston finished his career with six interceptions, 16 passes defensed and three forced fumbles. The 21-year-old owns Kentucky’s school record with three career interceptions returned for touchdowns. In 2023, Hairston earned second-team All-SEC honors after leading the SEC with five interceptions, helping Kentucky finish tied for second-most in the SEC with 1.4 turnovers per game.
A shoulder injury limited him to seven games last season, but the 5-foot-11, 183-pound prospect impressed during the draft process. Hairston participated in the Senior Bowl and clocked a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine earlier this year — the fastest of any prospect in attendance.
‘The Beast’ breakdown
Hairston ranked No. 35 in Dane Brugler’s Top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“Overall, Hairston is a competitive, lanky athlete who feels routes developing around him and plays with the reactionary movements and ball skills to fit a variety of coverages. If he makes the necessary improvements as a tackler, he has the talent to become a capable NFL starter early in his career.”
Not one, but TWO pick-6️⃣s for Maxwell Hairston 😤
(📍 @NavyFederal) pic.twitter.com/UX3VKwIsf0
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 23, 2023
Nick Baumgardner grades the pick
The Bills absolutely needed help in the secondary and Hairston, a very competitive and physical corner at 5-11, 183, is fast enough and competitive enough to hold up on the outside or in the slot in Buffalo. Hairston is an absolute burner who ran a 4.28 at the combine and despite his smallish weight, is a very long corner with near 32-inch arms. This is a quality pick and right about where I figured Hairston would go. I’m not sure I’d have taken Hairston over Will Johnson, though, even if there were speed and health concerns about the former Michigan star corner. This will be an interesting one to monitor.
Grade: B
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How he fits
Hairston enters the Bills’ equation to become long-term running mate to top cornerback Christian Benford. The 21-year-old Hairston was one of the fastest cornerbacks at the 2025 NFL Combine, running a blazing 4.28 40-yard dash. But it’s more than just the speed. Hairston is an excellent fit as a playmaking zone cornerback, who has the instincts and closing ability to force turnovers and potential game-changing plays. Best of all, even though they are rooted in zone, he will give them the ability to play more man coverage once he cracks the starting lineup. Hairston is shorter and lighter and has shorter arms than the Bills have gone for previously, but no cornerback they’ve drafted has ever been as fast as him.
Depth-chart impact
Hairston’s first-year impact will be completely up to him and how quickly he can adapt to the NFL game. The Bills have had a long history of making their rookie players earn playing time in their first season, and Hairston won’t likely be an exception to the rule. The team signed two veteran cornerbacks, Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson, who both have started games for them in previous stints with the franchise. Both White and Jackson will compete with Hairston for the starting job this summer but are likely best-suited as depth players behind Hairston. Any tie between Hairston and one of the veteran options will likely result in Hairston being the opening day starter.
They also could have picked …
The Bills had some other options at cornerback in Mississippi’s Trey Amos and Will Johnson of Michigan. Amos looked like an ideal fit for their zone scheme while maintaining the ability to play man coverage when the Bills needed to switch to it, though he didn’t offer the big play ability and ball production that Hairston did. Johnson’s knee injury is likely scaring some teams off despite him being highly rated, and it seems the Bills didn’t want to take that risk, either. One other position they could have taken was an edge rusher with Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, who could provide some speed and bend around the edge, but with some high-ceiling options in Round 2, and a drop-off at cornerback for the same round, the Bills opted for Hairston and could address the defensive line at Nos. 56 and 62.
Fast evaluation
With the top four defensive tackles off the board, the Bills’ first-round selection always pointed toward the cornerback position. Hairston is all about speed and big play ability, while providing the team with the versatility to major in zone coverage and get into man coverage when necessary. Hairston’s three interceptions returned for a touchdown over the last two seasons is a significant selling point for a team in search of defensive game-changers.
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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