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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 19: Interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady looks on before the game against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Buffalo Bills needed some help in the edge rush leading up to the NFL draft, but their decision to take Clemson’s T.J. Parker is drawing some criticism.
The Bills traded back three times during the first round, ending up with the No. 35 overall pick and a slew of other draft picks to use. General manager Brandon Beane used the team’s first selection on Parker, who has a spotty history of production.
SI.com’s Alex Brasky noted that Parker saw decreasing production in his final season with the Tigers, giving the team “plenty to be concerned about.”
“Parker’s sack total dropped from 11 in 2024 to just five in 2025, when three of his sacks came in his team’s final game of the season,” Brasky wrote. “Before that explosive performance, he suffered through a seven-game sackless streak. The Clemson product earned a Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade of 74.5, which was ranked 180th out of 852 players graded at the position.”
Brasky added that the pick felt a bit redundant to what the Bills already had at the position.
“As I mentioned in a previous article, Parker’s skill set is eerily similar to that of former Bills draft picks Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and last year’s third-round pick Landon Jackson,” Brasky noted. “All four players were projected as solid edge-setting defenders entering the draft, but their ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks and get them to the ground has proven to be middling at best.”
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty