We made it. After months of speculation, analysis of 40-yard times and scouring of every available scouting report, the NFL draft begins Thursday in Green Bay. The Buffalo Bills will have a long wait in the first round, holding the No. 30 overall selection. That is, of course, unless general manager Brandon Beane gets impatient and moves up the draft board. Here is The Buffalo News’ third and final mock draft before the real thing begins when the Tennessee Titans go on the clock with the No. 1 pick. 1. Tennessee Titans. Cam Ward, QB, Miami (Fla.). Everyone’s mock draft should start 1 for 1, as the Titans have appeared set to take Ward for awhile now. Ward's determination took him from a record-breaking career at Incarnate Word to Washington State and then Miami, the cusp of the College Football Playoff. 2. Cleveland Browns. Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado. Make it 2 for 2, as the Browns similarly have been focused on Hunter. It will be fascinating to see how the Browns utilize him as a rookie. Hunter is unique in modern football, a two-way player and Heisman winner at Colorado who insists he can play both sides in the NFL. 3. New York Giants. Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State. This is where the real intrigue of the draft starts. The Giants really need a quarterback, and they've done plenty of work on Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. If they don’t go in that direction, taking Carter seems like the right move. He’s arguably the draft’s best prospect at a high-priority position. 4. New England Patriots. Armand Membou, OT, Missouri. The Patriots’ top priority should be getting better protection for promising young quarterback Drake Maye. Membou has been a steady riser in mock drafts leading up to the real thing. 5. Jacksonville Jaguars. Mason Graham, DT, Michigan. Next to the top two picks, this might be the most popular mock selection – for good reason. The Jaguars need to get tougher in the middle of their defense, and Graham was part of a dominant defensive line in college. 6. Las Vegas Raiders. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State. It’s thought to be a really good year for running backs in the draft, and Jeanty is the best of the bunch, having rushed for 2,601 yards last season. The Raiders' trade for Geno Smith means the Raiders don’t have to force it at quarterback. 7. New York Jets. Will Campbell, OL, LSU. There has been some speculation Campbell might move from tackle to guard at the NFL level because of his relatively short wingspan. That would be less than ideal with a top-10 pick, but would you really put it past the Jets to do something questionable? 8. Carolina Panthers. Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia. The Panthers had the worst defense in the NFL a year ago. Quarterback Bryce Young showed enough promise to allow them to focus on improving their defense with a top-10 pick. Walker had 89 tackles and 12½ sacks in three college seasons. 9. New Orleans Saints. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado. With Derek Carr’s 2025 season in doubt because of a shoulder injury, the Saints have a huge question at quarterback. They stop Sanders’ slide here. He threw for 7,364 yards over the past two seasons in Boulder with his dad. 10. Chicago Bears. Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State. The Bears might be interested in another offensive lineman, but with the top two off the board in this scenario, adding another weapon for quarterback Caleb Williams is a solid backup plan. Warren, a five-year player in college, is the No. 1 tight end prospect. 11. San Francisco 49ers. Mike Green, Edge, Marshall. The 49ers need to add a running mate for edge rusher Nick Bosa. In taking a major step back last year, the 49ers ranked 25th in the NFL in sacks (37) and in hurry percentage, affecting the quarterback on just 6.5% of plays. 12. Dallas Cowboys. Matthew Golden, WR, Texas. A mild surprise here as Golden, not Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, becomes the first receiver off the board. Golden ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash and would give opposing defenses another receiver to worry about for the Cowboys other than CeeDee Lamb. 13. Miami Dolphins. Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas. A mini-run on Longhorns begins. Barron has the positional flexibility to play multiple spots in the secondary, and if the Dolphins follow through on trading Jalen Ramsey, cornerback becomes an even bigger need than it already is. 14. Indianapolis Colts. Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan. A 6-foot-6, 248-pounder, Loveland should give some immediate help to quarterback Anthony Richardson, who certainly needs it. In his second NFL season, Richardson completed just 47.7% of his passes. 15. Atlanta Falcons. Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss. There has been a steady buzz in recent weeks that Nolen is going to get picked earlier than a lot of mock drafts have him going. The Falcons always need help rushing the passer (they ranked 31st last year with 31 sacks), so this feels like a good landing spot. 16. Arizona Cardinals. Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia. The Cardinals added Josh Sweat in free agency after he won a Super Bowl with the Eagles, but they shouldn’t be finished addressing their pass rush. Their quarterback hurry rate last season was 7.1%. Williams had 14 sacks in three college seasons. 17. Cincinnati Bengals. Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon. The Bengals’ No. 1 draft need is an interior pass rusher. Harmon would help in that regard as the Bengals attempt to rebuild what was a terrible defense – fourth-worst in the AFC last season, while Joe Burrow & Co. scored the third-most points. 18. Seattle Seahawks. Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas. There has been some speculation that Banks could slip a bit, but teams generally shouldn’t wait if they need help at offensive tackle. The Seahawks could use help anywhere on the offensive line, which allowed 54 sacks last season. 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will Johnson, CB, Michigan. The Buccaneers had just seven interceptions last season and could benefit from Johnson sliding a bit in the draft, which has been predicted in recent days. A lingering turf toe injury has caused Johnson to miss workouts at the NFL scouting combine and at Michigan’s pro day. 20. Denver Broncos. Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina. The Broncos haven’t had a player rush for 100 yards in a game over Sean Payton’s first two seasons as head coach. That’s a fairly remarkable stat. Hampton would immediately become RB1 in Denver, which has already found its quarterback in Bo Nix. 21. Pittsburgh Steelers. Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss. The Steelers no longer have to wait on Aaron Rodgers’ decision if Dart falls to them. Playing for Lane Kiffin, Dart improved his completion percentage and yardage total three straight years. Maybe that pushes Rodgers into retirement. Wouldn’t that be nice? 22. Los Angeles Chargers. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona. The Chargers lost Joshua Palmer in free agency to the Bills, and the addition of Mike Williams isn’t good enough at the position. Getting McMillan here – he had back-to-back seasons with 1,300-plus yards – would be seemingly good value. 23. Green Bay Packers. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State. The Packers could also use a cornerback or an edge rusher here, but the board didn’t fall quite that way. Egbuka, the latest in a long line of OSU receivers with proven pro talent, is viewed as a high-floor prospect. 24. Minnesota Vikings. Tyler Booker, OL, Alabama. The Vikings' playoff loss to the Rams exposed their offensive line as a weakness. Minnesota needs to get better up front, especially with inexperienced quarterback JJ McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season with an injury, set to take over as the starter. 25. Houston Texans. Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State. The Texans are another 2024 playoff team with a huge need along the offensive line. Houston gave up 54 sacks last season, tied for third-most in the NFL. Simmons is nimble and strong, having put in 34 reps on the 225-pound bench press at the combine. 26. Los Angeles Rams. Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon. Are you noticing a trend yet? Teams can’t afford to pass on talented offensive tackles early in the draft, and the Rams are no different. Conerly is projected as the next great lineman from a school that produced Penei Sewell, already a two-time All-Pro. 27. Baltimore Ravens. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina. A pass rusher will be a real consideration, but the potential pairing of Emmanwori and Kyle Hamilton at safety is too fun to pass up for the Ravens here. Emmanwori would be the first safety off the board. 28. Detroit Lions. Shemar Stewart, Edge, Texas A&M. It’s a concern that Stewart had just 4½ total sacks in three college seasons, but he’s the ultimate “traits” prospect. Some team in the first round will fall in love with his potential. He stands 6-foot-5 and owns a 4.59-second 40 time. 29. Washington Commanders. Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky. This one might sting for the Bills, who could target Hairston at No. 30 if he’s still there. Hairston’s 4.28-second 40-yard dash was the fastest this year at the NFL scouting combine. At 183 pounds, he’s not the biggest prospect, but he plays a physical style. 30. Buffalo Bills. Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan. We go back to our original pick for the Bills in our first mock draft of the season. There is a good reason: Grant is a really good fit for what the Bills need at defensive tackle. He should be an immediate contributor as a run defender, and the hope will be that he develops as a pass rusher while working in tandem with DaQuan Jones opposite Ed Oliver. Some mock drafts have Grant going in the late teens, while others having him around in the top of the second round. That just goes to show the uncertain nature of this year’s class. Cornerback also figures to be a consideration here, but Grant’s physical ability and potential is too good to pass up at this point. Sean McDermott is a big believer that games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage, so strengthening his defense up the gut takes priority. 31. Kansas City Chiefs. Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State. We’ve been consistent in all three mock drafts that the Chiefs need to upgrade their offensive line after their dismal showing in the Super Bowl. A tackle might be a bigger need, but the board didn’t fall favorably that way, and Zabel should help. 32. Philadelphia Eagles. James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee. The Eagles find a potential replacement for Sweat with the final pick of the first round. Pearce had 19½ sacks in three seasons at Tennessee, including 10 as a sophomore in 2023.