Discussing Buffalo Bills defensive players over the last decade started to become easy. With head coach Sean McDermott in charge from 2017 through 2025, clear patterns emerged as it related to usage, positioning, and potential roles.
Heading into the 2026 NFL season, though, the Bills will look different. McDermott is out, and former offensive coordinator Joe Brady is the head coach. Jim Leonhard, himself a former Bills safety, is the new defensive coordinator, and his system will look much different than the one McDermott ran for the last decade. That change is refreshing, but it also leads to some questions in projecting what players will do and what their roles will be.
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That change will likely be extensive for some positional groups — especially among the front seven of the defense — but even in the defensive secondary, Leonhard is certainly going to prioritize some different traits than McDermott and his staff previously did. Buffalo added three defensive backs in the 2026 NFL Draft, including two cornerbacks. Will the new staff prioritize players drafted this year, or does the carryover thanks to president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane’s continued presence negate any need for wholesale change?
In today’s installment of our “91 players in 91 days” series, we’ll discuss last year’s first-round draft pick — a hyper-athletic corner with a tremendous ceiling.
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Name: Maxwell Hairston
Number: 31
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 5’11”, 192 pounds
Age: 22 (23 on 8/6/2026)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the first round (No. 30 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft
College: Kentucky
Acquired: First-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hairston enters the second year of his four-year rookie contract, which also contains a fully guaranteed fifth-year option. The total value of the contract without that option is $15,257,982. For the 2026 season, Hairston carries a cap hit of $3,467,723; if the Bills were to release or trade him, they would be on the hook for a dead-cap charge of $12,483,804.
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2025 Recap: Hairston’s season began inauspiciously, as a knee injury in training camp caused him to miss almost the entirety of the first two months of the regular season. He returned at the end of October against the Carolina Panthers, playing 27 snaps and notching his first career tackle in the 40-9 win. The following week, he notched his first career interception, sticking with the man he was ostensibly drafted to counter — Kansas City Chiefs wideout Xavier Worthy — to seal Buffalo’s 28-21 win over the Chiefs. He made his first career start the following week, and while he played every defensive snaps and hauled in another interception, it came in a 30-13 loss at the hands of the Miami Dolphins.
Hairston played in every regular-season game after returning from his knee injury, and he made three total starts. However, in the fourth quarter of the regular-season finale, he was rolled up on by a teammate at the end of a running play, and he suffered an ankle injury as a result. He missed both of the Bills’ playoff games.
Hairston totaled 18 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 5 pass breakups as a rookie. He was named to the All-Rookie Team by both ESPN and The Athletic despite playing in only 11 games.
Positional outlook: Hairston is one of 18 defensive backs on the roster, 10 of whom line up at corner. Jordan Dunbar, Christian Benford, Dee Alford, Te’Cory Couch, Toriano Pride Jr., Kani Walker, Davison Igbinosun, Dorian Strong, and Daryl Porter Jr. are the others.
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2026 Offseason: Hairston is ready to roll after an ankle injury prevented him from playing in the postseason as a rookie. He has attended offseason training activities (OTAs) to date.
2026 Season outlook: Given the presence of Davison Igbinosun, whom the Bills traded up to acquire in the 2026 NFL Draft, there has been some question as to Hairston’s fit in the defense with new coordinator Jim Leonhard. I don’t often take general managers at their word, but when Brandon Beane said that adding a player like Igbinosun was less about replacing the talent on the roster and more about adding depth in case of injury, I’m inclined to believe him.
Hairston showed flashes of brilliance in coverage last season, and while he didn’t play a ton of snaps overall thanks to injuries and a rotation with veteran Tre’Davious White, he showed me enough where I’m confident that he’s going to be a very good, if not great, NFL corner. I imagine that he’ll start across from Christian Benford whenever the two players are healthy.
Health was Hairston’s biggest issue last year, but neither of the injuries he suffered felt like issues of durability. They felt more like the product of unfortunate circumstance, as a buckled knee during training camp and a roll-up late in a meaningless Week 18 game don’t indicate an injury-prone player to me. If those freak instances can be avoided this season and Hairston can play the entire campaign, I expect that he’ll take a big leap forward in his second year.
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Hairston always felt like a corner who didn’t fit the “old” Buffalo defensive mold, simply because he possesses the athleticism and grit to play in a more physical, man-to-man defense that allows players to read and react aggressively rather than occupying space. If the reports about Leonhard’s desire to play a more aggressive style with more man and match tendencies come to fruition on the field, this could be a great switch for a player with Hairston’s athletic ability.
Hairston’s rookie season was strong despite it being shortened by injury. With good health and a quick pickup of a new system, his second season could be even better.
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