BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Bills are scheduled to pick 25th overall when the NFL Draft gets underway Thursday.
Buffalo Kickoff Live has two special shows this week to get you ready for the draft as well as a wrap-up show on Sunday night. Here’s how you can watch:
Buffalo Kickoff Live draft shows
• Mock Draft Special: 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on WIVB.com. (Watch a replay and get the full results here.)
All six BKL members will go through the draft and make picks as if they are an NFL team, and then when the Bills come up, everyone makes a pick for the Bills based on who is left.
• Draft Special: 7 p.m. Wednesday on WIVB and WIVB.com.
The BKL crew will cover all sides of the draft in the half-hour special, showing you what prospects the Bills could land and preparing you for any scenario the Bills encounter Thursday.
• Draft Recap: 10:30 p.m. Sunday on CW 23 WNLO and WIVB.com, and 11:35 p.m. on WIVB.
Once the draft is over, the BKL crew will recap the weekend, introduce you to the new players, and tell you everything you need to know to sound smart at work on Monday.
Who is on Buffalo Kickoff Live?
News 4’s Josh Reed and Heather Prusak anchor our coverage, along with Thad Brown from our sister station in Rochester, WROC. They’re joined by Sal Capaccio from WGR 550, Tim Graham from The Athletic and Matt Parrino from Syracuse.com.
How to watch the draft
The draft is a three-day event. It will be live on ESPN and NFL Network. Round 1 is also on ABC.
• Thursday: Round 1, 8 p.m.
• Friday: Rounds 2-3, 7 p.m.
• Saturday: Rounds 4-7, noon
What draft picks do the Bills have?
The Bills are scheduled to make eight picks this week. They have all of their own draft picks, minus their seventh rounder, and they acquired two late-round picks in trades.
Here are their picks by round (as of Tuesday):
1st: 25th overall
2nd: 57th overall
3rd: 89th overall
4th: 130th overall
5th: 168th overall
6th: 185th overall (from CAR), 203rd overall
7th: 231st overall (from ATL)
Who are the top prospects for the Bills?
Catch up on all of the top prospects with our 30-in-30 series that looked at some of the top players in the draft that could be on the Bills’ radar.
Have the Bills ever drafted 25th overall?
Yes, but not since the 1960s, before the AFL and NFL merged into one league. And back then, there were fewer teams, so 25th overall wasn’t in the first round. But the Bills did have success with their picks at 25.
Tackle Stew Barber (1961) was twice named first team All-Pro and made five Pro Bowls. Defensive back Butch Byrd (1964) made first team All-Pro three times and also made five Pro Bowls. Both players were on the Bills’ AFL championship teams in 1964 and ’65.
The Bills also drafted tackle Randy Jackson 25th overall in 1966, but he chose to play with Chicago in the NFL prior to the merger.
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Nick Veronica is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team as the Digital Executive Producer in 2021. He previously worked at NBC Sports and The Buffalo News. You can follow Nick on Facebook and Twitter and find more of his work here.