{"id":860501,"date":"2026-04-08T07:57:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860501\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T07:57:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:57:01","slug":"bills-boost-defensive-line-with-attack-oriented-edge-in-latest-mock-draft-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860501\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills Boost Defensive Line With ‘Attack-Oriented’ EDGE in Latest Mock Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zion Young is one of the hot names entering the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>, and the former Missouri Tigers defender will be one of many targets for the Buffalo Bills as they look to bring in additional firepower to the edge rusher position.<\/p>\n

Young is coming off a monstrous contribution in 2025 and has been rising quickly up draft boards, causing one analyst to predict\u00a0the 22-year-old will be selected by the Bills<\/a>\u00a0at pick No. 26 overall.<\/p>\n

Ryan McCrystal of\u00a0Sharp Football Analysis\u00a0has projected Young to Buffalo at the tail end of the first round, stating the team\u2019s need for additional depth as the reason for the pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeading pass rusher Greg Rousseau is locked up to a long-term deal, and the addition of Bradley Chubb will help,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBut depth at the position remains an issue, and the Bills should still consider dipping into this deep class of pass rushers.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCrystal also listed Miami\u2019s Akeem Mesidor and Clemson\u2019s T.J. Parker<\/a> as potential options for Buffalo. But in the end, he settled on Young as the right fit.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fiery alpha\u2019\"Zion<\/p>\n

South Carolina Gamecocks running back Oscar Adaway III (27) runs the ball as Missouri Tigers defensive end Zion Young (9) chases during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Young stands a lengthy 6-foot-6, weighing 262 pounds and presents fierce disruption ability both against the pass and in run defense from his EDGE position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got better every year, I\u2019ve worked on something every offseason,\u201d said Young<\/a> at the NFL Scouting Combine. \u201cFirst off, in order to play the pass, you\u2019ve got to play the run first. You\u2019ve got to make a guy respect the run game. And you have a privilege to rush the passer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young impacted the game in both areas during the 2025 season, finishing with 6.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss, which was tied for 14th-most in the nation.<\/p>\n

\"Zion<\/p>\n

Missouri Tigers defensive end Zion Young (9) warms up before the Gator Bowl against the Virginia Cavaliers at EverBank Stadium. | Travis Register-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was pretty good at the run game, and then over time I got pretty good at the pass game,\u201d added Young, who was then asked about his greatest strength. \u201cMy power.\u00a0Me\u00a0stopping the run.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, having the privilege to rush the passer is second. But my power and my energy, my consistency, I\u2019m very serious during practice, and it translates to the game. My preparation is very serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just what the doctor ordered for Buffalo\u2019s struggling run defense <\/a>from a season ago, which finished tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the most touchdowns rushing allowed with 24.<\/p>\n

Transition coming\"Bradley<\/p>\n

Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (2) runs on the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. | Jeff Romance-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

As the Bills look for added pieces<\/a> to fit first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard\u2019s new defense, Young is a player who could help aid the transition while providing a spark for the team in a couple of key areas up front.<\/p>\n

Chubb and Rousseau as a starting duo is a good start, but the Bills will need additional options off the edge if they hope to take a substantial step forward in an area in which they failed to measure up last season.<\/p>\n

Sign up to our\u00a0free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for the latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zion Young is one of the hot names entering the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, and the former Missouri…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-860501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}