Bills fans are not happy about this...

Bills fans are not happy with General Manager Brandon Bean as the early returns on the latest Bills rookie class have been underwhelming to say the least with many rookies failing to make much of an impact throughout the first two games of the 2026 season. So today we'll be taking a look back at this rookie draft class and going through a few key players that the Bills drafted and looking at what they've done so far this year. So welcome in everybody to Bills Digest. I'm Ben Volker and here at Bills Digest, we've got you covered with all things related to the Buffalo Bills. So if you don't want to miss a thing, make sure to go ahead and hit subscribe and let us know that you want more content just like this. And look, I hear what you're saying. You're saying it's only two weeks. How can you go ahead and judge the entire rookie class after just two weeks of play? And you know what? That is fair. They do need time to develop. At the end of the day, they are still getting pro ready and they are still rookies. But at the same time, I do think it is fair to say that Brandon Bean has been under fire for his lack of success in the NFL draft throughout the past few seasons, especially considering that this is a team that just hasn't been able to get over the hump. It would be nice to get a little bit of extra help through the draft and that just hasn't happened. And I think especially when Sean McDermott was fired at the end of last season, I think a lot of fans, myself included, were expecting Brandon Bean to be out the door with him. And the fact that he's stuck around means that there is an even bigger microscope on this draft in particular and what it will produce. Because look, the Bills are a team, like I said, that is Super Bowl or bust. And they don't need to be drafting projects. They need to be drafting players that are as pro ready as possible and able to make an impact. And the early returns on this year's draft class have not been that. Let's go ahead and take a look at the entire list of rookies that the Bills drafted this year. And they knew that defense is the sore point of this team as they went out and drafted seven out of ten players in this draft on the defensive side of the ball, including their top two picks in TJ Parker and Davison Iguinosa. And the guy there up at the top, TJ Parker, I think the Bills envisioned getting a lot more involved in this defensive line, especially if they could get them mixed in with playmakers like Deion Walker, Bradley Chubb, and especially Greg Rousseau, who's just been a monster this year. And that actually leads me into today's sponsor on the video, that being Calshi. And on Calshi, you're trading directly against other users, not the house like traditional sportsbooks. You're buying yes or no contracts on the outcome of events across sports, politics, or even the weather. 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Let's get back to talking about TJ Parker now, because as I said, this is a guy I think the Bills drafted and envisioned being one of those game wreckers on the defensive line, like Greg Rousseau and like Bradley Chubb. But throughout the first two games of the season, he hasn't done much. And there was one quote in particular I saw on Sports Illustrated about TJ Parker that really caught my eye. This is from Ralph Ventry, I believe is how you say that name. He said that Parker has been on the field for only 22% of the defensive snaps as part of the edge rusher rotation, and he hasn't made a case for that number to increase when he has been out there. The second round pick has one assisted tackle and zero quarterback hits through two games, which is not what the Bills were hoping for out of their top pick in this year's draft. But it is hard to envision that Parker gets more playing time, especially if you take a look at the depth chart and see that he's sitting behind guys like Greg Rousseau, who I mentioned is having a spectacular season, and Bradley Chubb, who is also playing at an extremely very good level through two games. And I mean, just take a look at these numbers from Greg Rousseau, Bradley Chubb, and even Deion Walker there. This is throughout the entire NFL, where Greg Rousseau leads the entire league in total pressures at 10, Bradley Chubb is in third place, and then pressure rate Greg Rousseau is in third with Bradley Chubb in eighth. There's just no room for TJ Parker to make an impact with the current level that he is playing at compared to Bradley Chubb and Greg Rousseau. There's just no competition there for Bradley Chubb, so I don't expect to see TJ Parker anytime soon for the Buffalo Bills, which is a little bit disappointing. The other guy that has probably had the most action for the Bills so far is Davison Igbenosin, the other second round pick that the Bills took in this year's draft. And IGB, he's been, I would say, not great so far this year, but I don't think he's been terrible. But the draft report on IGB coming out of college is that he makes a lot of penalties. That's what his biggest flaw is as a player. I think two years ago in 2024, he led the entire NCAA in penalties, which is just absolutely insane. And I think that just comes from the fact that he is a very physical player, and that sometimes he gets caught up in things. He was better with penalties last year at Ohio State, but through the first two games, he has still had some penalty issues. He's had a penalty in both of the first two games for the Bills. In Thursday's game, he had a brutal penalty. It was fourth down. Landon Jackson made the stop, but it was negated because of an IGBenosin holding penalty that led eventually led to a Sam Laporta touchdown, brought the Lions back within 10, forced the Bills to still try on the offensive side of the football when they could have just wrapped things up then and there. So that wasn't great to see from IGB, but there is still plenty of time, and he has been cutting into Hairston's snap count a little bit. So I think this will be interesting to monitor throughout the season how the split between IGBenosin and Hairston shapes up this year, but probably this is the player that has had most of the most of an impact so far for the Bills. Another player that people were very high on coming out of training camp was Caleb Alarms, or KEO as he is known. There was a linebacker competition for LB2 with him and Dorian Williams. Dorian Williams ended up winning out that competition. A lot of people were upset about that, but in the most recent game against the Lions, Dorian Williams actually looked pretty good. Was he perfect? No. There were still times that Williams looked pretty confused and lost out there, but for the most part, I think that he played really well, considering that he didn't play very well against the Texans. He allowed a few big plays to the Texans defense, including David Montgomery, who just ran all over him, made him look like a G-Leaguer out there, to use an NBA term. But on Thursday against the Lions, he was pretty good, and this is just one play in particular where he blitzed on the snap, played through the running back, and then tracked the ball back to the screen and ran down the tight end to only allow a two-yard game, which was pretty, pretty impressive. If you see the tape, you would notice that, wow, Dorian Williams had some speed there, and he was hitting. He was hitting pretty hard, too, throughout this game. So, it's hard to envision, once again, a guy like KEO that can come in and make a real impact. So, those are really the three big guys that have had any sort of action for the Bills in this rookie class this year. You can go ahead, look back at this list, and there's just not much there. Jude Bowery, he's been injured. Skylar Bell, he's been inactive. Some of my praises about Skylar Bell, I do think that he does have some talent, but he's been inactive over Greg Dorch the past few times, and I think that's just because of Dorch's punt returner ability. But if DJ Moore is unable to go, we could see some Skylar Bell action on Sunday against the Chargers. And then you've got guys like Jalen Kilgore, he hasn't suited up. Zane Durant, he's been injured. Toriano Pride was cut. I don't even think he's played a snap with the Browns. And then Armaj Reed-Adams there at the bottom, once again, another guy that hasn't suited up at all. But when your best player out of a draft is your seventh-round punter, it is a little bit of cause for concern for me. I cannot lie, because, look, Tommy Dillman, he's been good. The Bills have only punted four times throughout two games, and I believe he has an average net of 48 yards per punt, which is pretty good. I think it's third in the league. But if this is their best that they have to offer from this year's draft class, that is a little bit of a concern for me. But let me know what you guys think. Who do you think is the best player to come out of this year's rookie draft class? And who will that be by the end of the season? Will it be T.J. Parker? Will it be Igbenosin? Will it be K.E.O.? Or will it be Skylar Bell? Or will it be someone else? I'm going to go with Skylar Bell. You can see him on the screen there. I do think when he gets some action and gets involved in this Bills offense, he could be pretty dangerous. I've been saying he's got Stefan Diggs upside there. If you agree, leave a like, and if not, let me know down in the comments who you think and why. But that's all we've got time for today. I know it is a little bit early to be reacting to the rookie class, but look, I'm not looking for a defensive rookie of the year. I'm just looking for a guy that can play meaningful snaps and play good football. I don't think that's too much to ask, but I guess it is for Brandon Bean. But let me know what you guys think down in the comments. As always, keep it right here on Bills Digest. We'll have a Chargers preview coming for you in the next couple of days, so stay tuned for that. As always, thanks for watching, and Go Bills!