Yahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew breaks down the 35th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft as the Clemson DE is heading to Buffalo.
T.j. Parker, the edge rusher- Oh, man is the pick.
This is what they needed.
Yeah.
Like, this is great.
Uh- They’d be mocking to him at some point.
Yeah.
Yeah.
This is great.
Like, that- Parker was hard because there, this kind of second class of edges, what we’re gonna talk about on day two, there’s some DPR, designated pass rusher types, there’s some heavy-handed types.
T.J. Parker is the heavy-handed type.
I like this.
They need guys that can push the pocket, they need guys that can set the edge against the run.
He works real hard.
Like, as far as, like, he went on a Clemson team last year that struggled, he was just bringing it every single snap.
He can kick outside on r- pass rush downs.
Jim Leonard, who’s a very creative defensive coordinator, is gonna find a lot of use for him.
Might not be the sexiest player, but I actually like this for a team that sometimes takes guys that are a little maybe flashier at the position, or has tried to address the position with vets like Joey Bosa, Von Miller.
Now get a guy that’s maybe the hardworking type- Yeah that I think they really needed.
I, I think it’s important also to point out here at least that we have a new head coach, right?
Yeah.
And so that means a new identity, especially when you’re coming off a head coach that had a defensive identity.
So I do think it’s important I mean, the Bills basically said, “We think one person is the problem,” ’cause the only thing they really changed was Sean McDermott, right?
So let’s see how this addresses some of that.
But Jim Lemon, Jim Leonard being the defensive coordinator is gonna make this team look different.
It should be a pretty significant identity change on defense too, and that’s what’s gonna be really interesting with, Brandon Beane still being the general manager there.
He’s primarily, and almost, a- a- and has exclusively scouted for a Sean McDermott defense.
This is a pretty significant, right turn here from that identity standpoint.