2026 NFL Draft: Toriano Pride Jr says Bills gave him 'best day of life'

The Bills selected CB Toriano Pride Jr. out of Missouri in the 7th round of the NFL Draft at No. 220th overall.

The tape and timed athleticism of Toriano suggest he should have maybe been off the board by the seventh round, and he'll now join a position pool competing for rotation time in the Buffalo secondary.

And he'll do so as one of the fastest defensive rookies in the league.

The corner clocked a 4.32 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, good for the second-fastest of any defensive player in this year's draft class.

"My whole position is just off instinct, so running with deep balls and reacting to receivers that are just as fast as me or faster," Pride said to the media. "(I) just try to translate (the speed) to the football field. It's all cuts and angles … that's how the game is played now."

He was also a track standout at East St. Louis (Ill.) High School with a 7.12 in the 60-meter and 23.68 in the 200. He had a 'dream-come-true' draft day that will now see him bringing that motor and more to the pro level.

"This is the best day of my life," he added. "(It's) every kid's dream. I've been dreaming about this since I was six."

He began his career at Clemson, where he overlapped in 2023 with new Bills second-round pick TJ Parker, before transferring to Missouri and the SEC, playing against the best receivers in college football. There, in 18 starts over 26 games and two seasons, the speedster had four interceptions and 12 passes defended.

"It's always good to go somewhere where you have somebody you know or have been with before," Pride noted about being reunited with Parker. "It's great. I'm ready to work with him and get back to our connection we had."

He'd finish his collegiate career with five interceptions, 16 PBUs, a touchdown, and 82 total tackles in 52 games.

The Bills took steps towards improving their defensive backfield this offseason in moves like signing free agent corner as well as trading up on Day 2 of the draft to select fellow corner .