The Buffalo Bills brought in nine players in the 2025 NFL Draft, and several will likely make an impact this season. The most likely candidates to make some noise this year are first- and second-round picks Maxwell Hairston and T.J. Sanders. However, sixth-round pick Dorian Strong is the rookie sleeper who could surprise Bills Mafia.

CB Dorian Strong is the Bills rookie sleeper to watch

In 2022, just like in 2025, the Bills used their first-round pick on a cornerback. Back then, it was Florida CB Kaiir Elam, while this year it was Hairston out of Kentucky. After Elam, the Bills took another corner in the sixth round, 162 picks later, with Christian Benford out of Villanova.

In 2025, 147 slots after Hairston, the Bills took Strong out of Virginia Tech.

Any Buffalo fan is all too aware of how the Elam and Benford picks played out. Elam is one of the biggest first-round draft busts in recent Bills history. Getting forced to play him in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs is one of the biggest reasons the team failed to make the Super Bowl. The team traded the corner and a sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason for a fifth and a seventh-rounder.

On the flip side, Benford has become the team’s best coverage man, signing a four-year, $69 million contract extension this offseason.

This isn’t to say that Hairston is destined for Elam status. There were plenty of red flags surrounding the latter, who looked the part of an NFL CB1 but never played like it for the Gators.

Hairston had much more production (especially in 2022 and 2023 as an injury slowed him down in 2024) at Kentucky. He is on the smaller side, but his blazing speed should make him a true playmaker in Sean McDermott’s defense.

The real point here, though, is that it is easy to see how Dorian Strong could become the next Christian Benford and make an impact right away, despite going late on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Strong is, somewhat ironically, about the same size as Elam at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. He ran a 4.5 at the combine and his overall athleticism package put him 28th among the corners in the 2025 class. Ultimately, the biggest knock is that Strong will be scheme-dependent at the next level due his inability to match up man-to-man with the most athletic wideouts in the world.

That’s why a strong, experienced CB dropped all the way to Round 6 despite putting up good stats in his five years of college ball for Virginia Tech. Strong put up 112 tackles, 287 passes defended, and seven interceptions for the Hokies, with five of those picks coming in his final two seasons.

Brandon Beans and McDermott saw this production and Strong’s traits and seem to believe he will be a good fit in McDermott’s zone-heavy defensive system.

All this sounds similar to the scouting report on Benford back in 2022.

“A four-year starter with good size and football IQ, Benford plays the game with good physicality in coverage and in run support. However, he appears to lack desired top-end speed,” his NFL.com scouting report read. “He can play zone or man but needs some scheme protection against speedy targets.”

Strong’s NFL.com evaluation is eerily similar .

“Long, instinctive cornerback who can be a disruptive press corner or scan the field for ball production in zone … He has issues matching route breaks and flipping to sprint against deep targets due to average hips and foot quickness,” NFL analyst Lance Zierlein writes. “His cover talent could ultimately overcome any coverage concerns on the next level.”

That report also shares a quote from an anonymous NF scouting director who says, “I thought the 2023 tape was a lot better or at least a lot more consistent, but he’s a quality player – a future starter.”

Drafting a wildly physically gifted CB in Round 1 then taking another who has issues but could be a great fit for McDermott’s defense, specifically, is a familiar move by Beane. And that’s why Dorian Strong is the Bills' best rookie sleeper who could make an impact in 2025 NFL season.

With that said, there are a few other 2025 NFL Draft picks to keep an eye on for the Bills.

Fourth-round pick Deone Walker from Kentucky is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-7, 331 pounds and can move around the line and play different positions. He is likely a year or two away from being a difference-maker, but at his size the Bills may have found something truly special.

In the fifth round, the Bills took yet another DB in Jordan Hancock out of Ohio State. He could contribute right away due to his sheer versatility. The 6-foot, 195-pounder can play outside corner, nickel, or safety in the NFL, so he should be able to get on the field right away as a rookie in some capacity.

Finally, seventh-round wide receiver Kaden Prather could get an opportunity simply because of his size and the Bills’ lack of a set-in-stone hierarchy at the WR positions. Prather is 6-foot-4, 204-pounds, and ran a 4.46-second 40 at the combine. While he is not explosive enough to be a true WR1, his size and speed make him an intriguing deep threat and red zone option this season.