Welcome back to another year of the SB Nation Community Mock Draft!
NFL mock draft 2026: Buffalo Bills select C.J. Allen, LB, Georgia
The Bills grab the next leader of their defense with Georgia’s C.J. Allen in SB Nation’s Community Mock Draft.
As we do every draft season, all 32 NFL sites at SB Nation come together to fill out an entire first-round mock draft leading up to the actual event that takes place from April 23-25. One by one, our site managers will make their picks and provide their reasoning behind the selection. From there, I will provide further analysis on top of giving a final opinion on the pick!
Without further ado, let’s keep things rolling!
With the 28th overall pick in the 2026 SB Nation Community Mock Draft, Buffalo Rumblings’ Matt Byham and the Buffalo Bills select C.J. Allen, linebacker, Georgia!
Byham’s analysis:
SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: With the 28th pick the Buffalo Bills select...
C.J. Allen, LB, Georgia
A trade with the Houston Texans sent the Bills back to 28 from their original selection point of 26, while also gaining pick 141 (Round 5) in the process.
The Bills need to address the elephant in the room, which is a lack of talent along the defensive front seven. Some of that is due to attrition, namely linebacker Matt Milano who's return is anything but guaranteed.
With a huge run on the wide receiver position, the smart play was for Buffalo to add a heck of a ball player who should make an immediate impact -- that being linebacker C.J. Allen.
A physical, three-down 'backer with coveted intangible traits, Allen has a chance to become a real force out of the gate wearing the green dot with the Bills. Buffalo is undergoing a huge overhaul on defense under first-time defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. While a hybrid system is expected for 2026, the goal remains a shift to a 3-4 base system.
Allen will provide the Bills with set-it-and-forget-it reliability at MIKE. He's one of the draft's most technically proficient linebackers, and someone dripping with football instincts.
Rec 2ReplyRead 33 replies
My analysis: This is going to be a very un-sexy pick for the Bills, but when you look at the state of their linebacker room, you’ll understand. The middle of their defense lacks a “green dot” player to lead the unit from the core of the unit and Allen is the consensus top player at off-ball linebacker. It just makes too much sense to grab a plug-and-play starter at this point in the first round. You can’t say that about many positions at pick 28 and the Bills do right by their team
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