Bills Boldly Address Sexual Assault Charge on 'Impeccable' 1st-Round Draft Pick

A top priority for the Buffalo Bills heading into the draft existed in the secondary where they hoped to land a starting caliber corner. They addressed that need from the jump, drafting Maxwell Hairston at pick No. 30 overall.

For those who did not follow the pre-draft process closely or have any familiarity with Hairston, they got to know him in a positive light during Round 1. While he watched 29 players hear their names called before him, he looked like everyone's best teammates with his celebrations and bear hugs for every player he saw. However, Hairston has been through a great deal in the pre-draft process, namely with an allegation of sexual assault stemming from an incident back in 2021.



This forced teams to do some additional examination into his background. Brandon Beane, the general manager of the team that finally chose him, stands firm in Hairston's innocence. “Yeah, he’s an impeccable kid and we’ve done a lot of research.

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Just like anything in this world, you can’t just take someone’s account and think that’s the truth, but yes, we fully investigated that.I would say this is a heck of a young man, every person you ask. That’s unfortunate when things like that are attached to someone’s name and in this case, it doesn’t seem to be anything there.

”Such cases are always a cause for pause for any NFL franchise. In this circumstance, However, Hairston was never criminally charged and no details of the case were made public. With that in the rearview, Hairston can focus on showcasing himself a Bills uniform, joining a defense that will welcome his skillset in the secondary.

Buffalo conceded 226.1 passing yards per game last season, a bottom 10 mark across the league. Hopefully, the Bills can make the necessary upgrades defensively to supplement the star power they boast on the offensive side with reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen.

Hairston's journey with the Bills begins in earnest in May at the start of rookie minicamp. Related: Bills GM Rips 'Expletive' Critics With NSFW Rant Going ViralRelated: Bills Late-Round Edge Rusher Named 'Steal' of Draft.