The pick that almost got away: Bills were thrilled to land sleeper in NFL Draft

Jarrett Bailey

The pick that almost got away: Bills were thrilled to land sleeper in NFL Draft image

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills selected a horde of defensive players in the 2025 NFL Draft, including three cornerbacks. One of those corners was Ohio State's Jordan Hancock, whom Buffalo selected in the fifth round. Joining One Bills Livegeneral manager Brandon Beane explained that Hancock was one player the entire front office was hoping they could get, and were very excited when he fell to them.

"He was one of those ones [we wanted]," Beane said. "We were sweating it, sweating it, sweating it. The pick [ahead of ours] is in before [so] we can now pick him. I turn around [and] behind me in the draft room is all of our area/national scouts, so I turned around and I saw as much enthusiasm from that as any pick there was because there's a lot of guys in there that are fired up. Again, I can make some cases for some other players, but if you ask my college scouts, that's the guy they would say."

Hancock had 19 tackles and an interception last year with the Buckeyes. He had a 76.2 coverage grade from PFF. Putting him in a group that now has a great balance of youth and veteran experience while bringing him along slowly could lead to Hancock being the latest Sean McDermott gem.

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Jarrett Bailey

Jarrett Bailey is a freelance NFL writer for The Sporting News. He previously wrote for USA TODAY Sports Media Group, The 33rd Team and Pro Football Network. Enjoyer of chocolate milk, metal music, Batman, pasta salad, and pro wrestling. There is nothing more breathtaking than a Jeff Hardy swanton bomb.