ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills’ first-round pick Maxwell Hairston showed his value at the NFL scouting combine, running the fastest time in the 40-yard dash at 4.28 seconds.

The Kentucky corner is looking to make that a winning trait against the fast and talented receivers that the NFL has to offer.

Hairston is 5’11 and 183 pounds. He played in the SEC where he went up against the best college competition week in and week out.

Against the Green Bay Packers first-round pick Matthew Golden from Texas, Hairston wasn’t perfect in man coverage.

Golden ran a 4.29 at the combine, only slower than Hairston. In the game between the two, Golden got the better of Hairston early on.

Hairston may have been limited with an injury, as he was just returning to game action. Golden seemed to take advantage of that in the first drive of the game.

Golden caught a 20-yard pass on a third and 11 deep in Texas territory, his quick route allowed him to have an easy catch and Hairston slipped to give Golden room to run after.

The rest of the drive Golden got the better of Hairston to lead Texas to an opening touchdown.

Now, Hairston will be facing receivers like Golden on a regular basis in the NFL. He will be tested in man-on-man against the best of the best.

The coolest thing about him is that you have to win in short to medium routes to be successful. Because if you throw a long ball to his assignment, be ready for him to run right with the receiver and knock the ball away.

Even if he loses ground when the receiver breaks on his route, Hairston has shown an ability to be able to make it not matter because of his blazing speed.

Now the cornerback room is competitive, and he might not be getting starter playing time yet.

Christian Benford will be one of the starting cornerbacks, and Taron Johnson and Tre’Davious White are more established options to start alongside him.

There are also two other drafted cornerbacks that will be looking to assert themselves early in their careers. Hairston is clearly being used as someone that isn’t needed at the moment but could help and hopefully turn into more of an impact guy down the road.

As training camp nears, people will get a better look at how he is fitting into his new defense. The Bills are looking to be a Super Bowl winner, and you don’t win Super Bowls with just your starting players.

Throughout your roster the team needs to be loaded with capable and talented players that step in when injuries come in play.

Hairston may end up being a really important piece to the equation, and he might need to do it as soon as this season.