Green Bay, WI (WGR Sports Radio 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Bills have selected cornerback Maxwell Hairston out of Kentucky with the 30th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Standing at 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds, Hairston tallied 19 total tackles in his final year with Kentucky. He also put together one sack, two forced fumbles, one interception, and one touchdown.
Hairston completed his college career as a two-year starter. He played in 32 games and started 20.
While being considered undersized, he brings much needed speed to the Bills secondary as he posted a 4.28 second time for his 40-yard dash.
Hairston was able to tie the Kentucky record with Dallas Owens for most career interceptions returned for a touchdown with three.
NFL analyst Lance Zierlein says:
"Slender outside cornerback with long arms and impressive ball production. Hairston is capable of playing all forms of zone and man coverage. He anticipates well with his eyes forward and has the burst to take the ball away, posting six interceptions (three returned for TDs) over his last 20 games. He stays connected in man coverage with good agility and fluidity but needs to do a better job of locating the football downfield. He will struggle to contest big wideouts and his run support will turn off some teams. Hairston has the athleticism and on-ball talent to become a starter, but he needs to prove he can hold up to the rigors and physicality of the NFL game."
“It’s hard to have recovery speed like that,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said after selecting Hairston 30th overall.
“Some guys run fast, like they run track fast, but they don’t play fast,” he added. “And you’re always looking to add speed as long as the football player matches it.”
“I bring juice, I bring being a good teammate, I bring leadership,” said Hairston, who is from West Bloomfield, Michigan. “And I’m going to bring Josh Allen the ball back.”
Hairston joins a team with a hole at cornerback opposite returning starter Christian Benford.
Buffalo elected against re-signing starter Rasul Douglas last month, while also electing to move on from Kaiir Elam by trading the third-year player to Dallas last month. And Hairston became the first defensive player the Bills selected with their first pick in the draft since taking Elam at No. 23 in 2022.
Buffalo added veteran depth at the position with the free-agent additions of Tre’Davious White and Dane Jackson, who both rejoin the team after a one-year absence.
Though Hairston will have a shot to compete for a starting job, the veteran depth provides the Bills a level of insurance to ease in the rookie, who Beane said still needs to develop his tackling skills — something the team demands out of its cornerbacks.
“I think he is a willing tackler,” Beane said, noting Hairston has already started bulking up. “It’s not from a lack of effort. And he’s got the coverage skills, ball skills that you look for in a corner.”
On Thursday, Hairston was the fourth cornerback selected in the first round, including No. 2 pick Travis Hunter who also plays receiver.
By filling a position of need and with Buffalo having a first-round grade on Hairston, Beane said he elected to make the selection rather than trading back as he did twice in moving entirely out of the first round a year ago.
“We didn’t want to commit to that until we saw what was there on the board,” Beane said. “We had options to go back, but we had a good grade on Max. We’re excited that he was available.”