Maxwell Hairston was the talk of the 2025 NFL Draft well before his name was called with the 30th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills. Starting from the very first selection through the very end of the night, the former Kentucky star stood by the tunnel in the green room, ready to shake hands and give hugs to every player coming off the board.
Mad Max was the last person they saw before picking up their new team’s hat and walking out to shake Roger Goodell’s hand in Green Bay. He was the ultimate hype man during the biggest moments of their lives.
Why?
“I’m a very happy and energetic person, and the fact that I’m in the green room right now is just so exciting for me,” Hairston said after picking up his own hat and meeting the commissioner for the first time as an NFL player. “The fact that I knew the majority of the guys that got picked, of course I had to show some love. We worked so hard for this opportunity, and to all hear our names called, ‘Man, it’s truly beautiful.’”
You’ve gotta love new #Bills CB Maxwell Hairston! Special person.
(via @CBSSports @NFLonCBS) pic.twitter.com/aNi1Kqa5dA
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 25, 2025
He supported their dreams coming true all night, and then the Bills returned the favor at No. 30. For them, it was an easy decision after meeting with the former Wildcat multiple times ahead of the draft — a clear first-round pick, no matter what other teams’ big boards said. One area scout for the franchise, Pete Harris, spent the entire process banging the Mad Max drum — “Pete was very high on him,” Buffalo GM Brandon Beane said — and the rest of the front office agreed.
For starters, you don’t get many defensive backs with Hairston’s speed.
“It’s hard to have recovery speed like that,” Beane said. “Some guys run fast, they run track fast, but they don’t play fast. I don’t know if I could say 4.26, but you saw 4.3 on film as a player. You’re always looking to add speed as long as the football player matches it.”
But he’s not just a track star — you don’t rack up six picks and 16 pass break-ups in three years playing SEC football by just being fast. You have to have some tracking skills, too.
“He’s got ball skills,” Beane continued. “There are guys that have speed, but they don’t track it well or they just can’t make the play. He’s got that — he loves to make plays on the ball. He’s an aggressive player attacking the ball, which we like.”
That’s something he takes pride in — and he lets it show on the football field. Hairston is going to make a play on the ball and let you know about it, exactly the type of confidence you need to compete for a Super Bowl contender in Buffalo.
He takes that from seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey, once an idol and now a peer in the league. The former Wildcat hopes to follow in his footsteps as a dominant defensive back in the NFL.
“I love Jalen Ramsey because he played with so much swagger,” Hairston said. “You knew he was that guy. You knew not to try him. And I just want to be able to go out there with that same confidence, knowing that if you come at me, it’s not 50-50, that’s my ball. … I’m the type of player where I think, I have to catch like a receiver because when that ball is in the air, I’m gonna adjust like a receiver and take it back to the house. And my mindset when I do get an interception is score, make it easy on the offense.”
He’s ready to prove himself individually, worthy of that first-round draft grade and pick the Bills made official on Thursday. More than that, though, he’s excited to help Buffalo win a world championship — making Josh Allen’s life easier at quarterback while teaming up with an old friend in Ray Davis.
“I feel like this team is a Super Bowl ready team, and we’re gonna go out there and attack it,” Hairston said. “I actually got to watch them play. When they came to Detroit, Ray Davis gave me some tickets, and I saw Josh Allen go out there and put on a master class. And I was like, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t mind that being my quarterback.’
“And the fact that it really happened, now I’m super excited and super prepared to get to work with him.”
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