Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills have a need for speed in the defensive secondary. Over the last two offseasons, the Bills have made a concerted effort to add more athleticism to their defense’s back end, bolstering the overall speed of the group through multiple signings and draft choices.
While it’s clear that this transition was occurring with former head coach Sean McDermott at the helm, it’s apparent that new defensive boss Jim Leonhard wants to accelerate the process. This doesn’t mean that the players drafted for McDermott’s zone-heavy scheme are obsolete in Buffalo’s new defense, but it does imply that there may be space made for some new blood in the defensive secondary.
In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss Buffalo’s first of three seventh-round draft picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Name: Toriano Pride Jr.
Number: 32
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 5’10” 185 lbs.
Age: 22 (23 on 12/18/2026)
Experience/Draft: R; selected by Buffalo in the seventh round (No. 220 overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft
College: Missouri
Acquired: Seventh-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Pride Jr.’s four-year rookie contract is worth $4,555,780 overall. In 2026, he carries a cap hit of $928,945 if he makes Buffalo’s 53-man roster; if he’s released, the Bills will carry a dead cap charge of $175,780 this season.
2025 Recap: In his final year of eligibility, Pride Jr. had another solid year for Missouri. It was his second season with Mizzou after having transferred from Clemson following his sophomore season. Pride Jr. had two interceptions for the second straight season, and he also returned one for a touchdown for the second straight yaer. He totaled 24 tackles and four pass breakups, adding a fumble recovery that he returned 62 yards, as well. He played in all 13 of the Tigers’ games, starting 12. For his efforts, he was invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, where he showed off blazing speed and solid overall athleticism. He ran the forty-yard dash in 4.32 seconds and completed the three-cone drill in 7.2 seconds. He bench pressed 225 lbs. a total of 13 times. He showed solid explosion, as well, with a 37.5” vertical leap and 10’8” broad jump.
Positional outlook: Pride Jr. is one of five players listed at cornerback on the current roster. Dee Alford, Davison Igbinosun, Maxwell Hairston, and Christian Benford are the others. Some other defensive backs, like Te’Cory Couch, Jordan Hancock, Kani Walker, and Jordan Dunbar, also play corner but are listed at DB rather than CB.
2026 Offseason: Pride Jr. participated in offseason work for the Bills, playing both slot corner and boundary corner at different times in spring and early summer practices.
2026 Season outlook: I have to be honest: I keep reading about how Pride Jr. is a smaller corner who likely has to play in the slot at the NFL level, and I used the “undersized” moniker to write about him in the subader of this very piece; however, he really isn’t that small...
