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The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine has come and gone and Relative Athletic Scores (RAS) will be popping up all over your social media feeds alongside video clips of exceptional gauntlet drills and gravity-defying jumps. For Bills Mafia and other NFL fandoms, many are fixating most closely on the players at the positions of perceived need for their favorite team.
Not knowing what free agency will bring and not knowing how those needs will look different when the Bills have their first pick read off a card during draft weekend, during the combine I was focusing on players from my previously established needs list.
How did players at those positions fare? Let’s evaluate some performances.
Edge Rusher
Malachi Lawrence, EDGE (Central Florida) (RAS 9.90)
Lawrence showed at the combine what he shows on film: impressive movement. He had a 96th percentile or better mark in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard split, 10-yard split, broad jump, and vertical jump. With requisite arm length (33.63”) over a generally established threshold of 33”, Lawrence can provide a team with an athletic rusher to mold likely on Day 2 of the upcoming draft.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlien compared Lawrence to former Philadelphia Eagles and current Arizona Cardinals defender Josh Sweat, who was on the wish list for many Bills fans as a free agent last offseason — and who totaled 12 sacks in 2025 (a number any Bills fan would be thrilled to get out of a singular pass rusher in recent years).
Mason Reiger, EDGE (Wisconsin) (9.53 RAS)
Reiger is a tall, linear, explosive athlete who happens to hail from new Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s last play-calling location in Camp Randall. Leonhard and Reiger’s time didn’t overlap there, but the former Badger projects as an edge defender in more of an odd front (which the Bills may utilize notably under Leonhard).
Reiger’s arm length (32.63”) is a smidge shorter than you’d expect from a guy who’s every bit of 6’5”, but he tallied an 89th-percentile or better mark in the 10-yard split, broad jump, and vertical jump.
Wide Receiver
Bryce Lance, WR (North Dakota State) (9.95 RAS)
The younger brother of former top three pick Trey Lance, Bryce followed in the footsteps of former NDSU freak athlete wide receiver Christian Watson by putting up 95th-percentile or better marks in the 40-yard dash, 20- and 10-yard splits, vertical jump, and broad jump.
Unlike a lot of recent combine attendees, Lance also partook in the shuttle and three-cone drills, showing impressive agility (84th-percentile shuttle, 64th-percentile three-cone) for a player of his 6’3” height. Lance’s proven athleticism, with two years of strong production (1,000 receiving yards in both 2024 and 2025) and excellent ball-tracking skills, could have him selected in the top 100 in April.
Germie Bernard, WR (Alabama) (9.04 RAS)
Bernard’s athleticism may have taken a few draft aficionados off guard when he came out and posted and 80th percentile or better mark in the 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, broad jump, and three-cone. Considered by many to be a high-floor and safely reliable prospect, Bernard is likely an early Day 2 pick in this year’s draft due to a developed and full route tree and inside/outside versatility.
Compared by some to 2026 free agent Romeo Doubs (who many have linked to the Bills), the team may be able to get the archetype cheaper and younger in the draft through Bernard.
Safety
Dillon Thieneman, S (Oregon) (9.64 RAS)
The Bills already invested a high pick in a freakishly athletic safety (Cole Bishop, 9.88 RAS) two years ago and many fans would be pleased for them to continue this trend with Oregon’s Thieneman. He recorded a 90th-percentile or better mark in all speed and explosion drills (40-yard dash, 20- and 10-yard splits, vertical and broad jumps) and his on-field work impressed many and showed up in clips online.
Safety may not be the biggest need in the hearts of many Bills fans, but Theineman might be the best player on the board if and when the Bills select at pick 26 overall. Jim Leonhard had an excellent preferred starting duo of Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga in Denver when both were available, and he may seek to shore up the defensive secondary to add to a young a promising core that includes Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston, and Bishop.
Bud Clark, S (Texas Christian) (9.32 RAS)
An undersized (6’0, 188 pounds) but hyper-athletic safety, Clark is an ideal coverage defensive back with the range to be placed in single high without meaningful concern. After posting 93rd-percentile or better marks in all speed and explosion drills, Clark reinforced in Indianapolis what he showed on film: that his movement ability is excellent.
With a lack of impact playmaking options on the defensive side of the ball, the Bills may be inclined to overlook Clark’s size and injury concerns to get his ball skills and athleticism on the field in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft.
Center
Jake Slaughter, C (Florida) (9.91 RAS)
If the Bills think former draft pick Sedrick Van Pran-Granger can compete with a later-round rookie to be the team’s starting center in 2026, Slaughter fits the Bills as an athletic opponent in that battle. Not as long as previous starter and pending free agent center Connor McGovern (32.38” arms compared to McGovern’s at 34.125”), Slaughter is still an experienced center with high-level movement skills. He checked in with 85th-percentile or better marks in the 10-yard split, 40-yard dash, vertical jump, and broad jump.
Brian Parker II, C (Duke) (9.09 RAS)
The Bills may not believe that Van Pran-Granger is ready to start with cursory competition. They may want to invest more heavily into the interior of the offensive line in the hopes that the combination of he, Alec Anderson, and this IOL investment can help fill the left guard and center spots in the aggregate.
If they’re looking at late Day 2 projected players, Parker fits the mold. A former tackle, he doesn’t have the elite movement abilities of other centers in the class but makes up for it with size and strength (92nd-percentile or better in height, weight, bench press, and broad jump). That’s not to say he’s a slouch on the move; his speed and agility scores were all in a nice range (69th-percentile or better) with the exception of his shuttle (38th percentile).
There are a lot of good players in the 2026 class at positions the Bills may need when they get to late April. These are but a smattering of some of the better athletes who showed out in Indianapolis. We don’t know exactly who the Buffalo will take with each of their picks, but it’s nice to know that there are athletes out there to add to an athletic team in need of athletes.
…and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!