The pick is in.

With the 35th pick in the 2026 NFL draft by way of the Tennessee Titans, the Buffalo

Bills, select T.J. Parker, the defensive end from Clemson. Locked on NFL draft is sponsored

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Patiste, and I'm joined now by Joe Marino from Locked on Bills. And Joe, the bills needed to

address critical defensive depth. They needed to upgrade their pass rush. And of course, they had a lot of departures and free agency. So for you was going with an edge,

the right move at 35? I definitely thought the bills would be addressing the defensive front

seven in some way with their early selections. Of course, they traded out of the first round.

And so this is their first pick. And so I'm not surprised that it's a defensive front seven player. Maybe I'm a little surprised that it's an edge rusher because the depth of this edge rusher class is so deep. And it's not as deep on the interior defensive line where I would argue the bills had maybe some bigger needs. And you had some guys like Caden McDonald and Christian Miller that were both on the board. I could argue that inside

linebacker was maybe a bigger need than edge rusher. But the thing about edge rusher, it's the

premium position. So they definitely valued that big ticket, big money spot. And definitely add to this

mix that includes Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chub and Michael Hoyt and snow.

Now they're pretty deep and they got some youth now with with TJ Parker and the fray.

Yeah, and Parker's a guy who for Clemson broke their true freshman record for tackles for loss with 12 and a half back in 2020.

Set the single season mark for forced fumbles in 24 had a little bit of a

dip in 25 but ultimately senior bowl good deal combine for him good deal so what do you like

about what parker brings to the table well i like that he's explosive with good size no there was

a lot of ideas that the bills could go with a bursty, bendy, kind of undersized

pass rusher, but they prioritize guys that can play on every down.

And that's what I like about T.J. Parker is that he's young. He's 21. He doesn't turn

22 until September, but he gives you a 263 pounds over 33-inch arms. That's not going to provide a player that really limits the defense.

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