The Bills didn’t need a whole lot on the offensive side of the ball in the 2025 NFL Draft. They had a good thing going—good enough to get Josh Allen an MVP trophy, after all—and their draft reflected their desire to get stronger on the defensive side of the ball. Their first five picks, and seven of their eight first picks, all went to the defense. They ended up taking two fantasy-relevant position players: Jackson Hawes out of Georgia Tech, and Kaden Parther out of Maryland. What can we expect from these two for 2025 fantasy football leagues?
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 30 | Maxwell Hairston | CB | Kentucky |
| 2 | 41 | T. J. Sanders | DT | South Carolina |
| 3 | 72 | Landon Jackson | DE | Arkansas |
| 4 | 109 | Deone Walker | DT | Kentucky |
| 5 | 170 | Jordan Hancock | CB | Ohio State |
| 5 | 173 | Jackson Hawes | TE | Georgia Tech |
| 6 | 177 | Dorian Strong | CB | Virginia Tech |
| 6 | 178 | Bilhal Kone | CB | Western Michigan |
| 6 | 206 | Chase Lundt | OT | UConn |
| 7 | 240 | Kaden Prather | WR | Maryland |
Round 5, Pick 173: Jackson Hawes, Tight End, Georgia Tech (6’5”, 260 lbs)
TALENT:
Hawes is primarily a blocker, so he offers very little fantasy football upside. He’s a great blocker, which will get him drafted (though I doubt he gets the Tip Reiman Special because of his lack of versatility). He’s nothing more than a release valve in the pass game, when he isn’t in there blocking, though he has soft hands and an ability to run through contact.
NFL Comparison: Luke Farrell
Pre-Draft Grade: 5th Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY:
Depth Chart:
TE1 Dalton Kincaid
TE2 Dawson Knox
TE3 Jackson Hawes
Hawes isn’t going to find himself getting to the top of the tight end depth chart anytime soon, as Kincaid & Knox are firmly solidified as the #1 and #2 tight ends in the room. There isn’t going to be much leftover for Hawes, target-wise, as only ten Bills targets went to tight ends not named Kincaid/Knox last season, and only three went to the TE3 in 2023. Hawes is a great third tight end for the Bills because he has no presumptions of doing anything but blocking.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
There’s a non-zero chance that Penei Sewell has more fantasy points than Jackson Hawes this season.
Round 7, Pick 240: Kaden Prather, Wide Receiver, Maryland (6’3”, 209 lbs)
TALENT:
Kaden Prather is yet another player whose best traits are his measurables, rather than his play on the field. He is capable mainly of running nine routes, because he rounds off all his other routes and struggles to catch the ball in traffic. But he’s big and semi-fast, with long arms and legs that give him a big catch radius. Unfortunately, he just isn’t sudden enough to be a speed receiver, and he isn’t strong enough to be a bully receiver. He’s a tweener who will float around the bottom of rosters around the league, if he’s lucky.
NFL Comparison: Equanimeous St. Brown
Pre-Draft Grade: UDFA
2025 OPPORTUNITY:
Depth Chart:
WR1 Khalil Shakir
WR2 Keon Coleman
WR3 Joshua Palmer
WR4 Curtis Samuel
WR5 Kaden Prather
Given the way that Prather’s skillset maps onto the Buffalo Bills’ receiving corps, it’s highly likely that the Bills put Prather and Joshua Palmer in a camp battle for the deep threat role in their offense. Also, given his skill set sits at or below Palmer’s as a route runner and receiver, it’s likely he ends up on the practice squad or as a special teamer if he is active on game days. If he beats Palmer for a starting gig, then he should get some opportunities to go deep. It also means that he’s fixed a lot of his issues.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Prather isn’t even worthy of a flyer in the deepest of fantasy football leagues.
