Bills Defensive Backs for 2025

[Roundybout]

2 hours ago, gordong said:

pass Hamlin and Douglas trade Elam.. draft is going to be defense HEAVY. 

No one is trading for Elam after the tape he put out on Sunday. He’s not a rosterable player.

[since79]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFan said:

I believe the Bills need to draft 1 - 2 CBs in this draft and maybe even an additional safety.   3 names to watch in the draft are Quincy Riley (2nd rd), Maxwell Hairston (3rd rd) and Jahdae Barron (late 1st rd).  I also expect the Bills to add depth in free agency to both CB and S.  I agree that Ingram and Lewis are not good enough depth.

I like Xavier Watts.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

2 hours ago, DapperCam said:

I’m not sure if anybody else has noticed, but our defensive backs other than Benford were pretty bad in 2024. I’m concerned that there aren’t really answers on the roster, draft or FA to plug the holes. I don’t fully believe in PFF grades, but gave them because they can give a rough idea where players rank relative to their peers.

 

Safeties:

Hamlin - Probably the definition of a replacement level player. He was in position usually, but really lacked athleticism. Free agent this summer. (PFF 107/170 safeties)

Rapp - Just had an okay season. Notably got injured when we needed him and injured his teammates. (PFF 117/170 safeties).

Bishop - Missed a lot of training camp and preseason. Looked rough out there in a few games. Couldn’t beat out Hamlin for a starting spot despite far superior athleticism. (PFF 150/170 safeties).

 

Slot Corner:

T. Johnson - Previously an All-Pro, but had a pretty mediocre season. Was getting burned a lot. I cut him some slack since Rapp broke his arm in the first game.  (PFF 82/223 corners)

C. Lewis - Replaced Johnson when he was hurt and was constantly picked on. Had a huge role in the first Ravens game beat down. (PFF 106/170 safeties)

 

Boundary Corner:

Benford - Probably the only DB that played well. Not a ball hawk, but solid in coverage. Got a little bit leakier at the end of the season (Rams game on). Historically he is injury-prone and just had back-to-back concussions. (PFF 5/223 corners)

Douglas - Had a straight up bad year. Not sure if Father Time caught up to him. Free agent this summer. (PFF 132/223 corners)

Elam - At this point a huge bust. Wasn’t even active most of the season. Might have lost us the KC game. (PFF 47/223 corners, note this is just regular season on a low snap count)

Ingram - Only has stats in about half the games. Had an insane game vs the Dolphins, but seems like a bubble roster player (PFF 134/223 corners)

 

Bills had a bottom-10 pass defense, which based on personnel here is probably overproducing based on the talent.

 

So what is the front office going to do? Ideally we need to add a good safety and good boundary corner, along with better depth in case of injuries. Hamlin and Douglas will walk this summer IMO.

 

Looking at these scores I can't even figure out of a lower number is better or worse!!

 

Which in itself, could be a reason for concern!!

[st pete gogolak]

If anyone suggests more of a move to 4 - 3, the response is always "you can't take Taron off the field".  Fair enough.  But I don't want to take Milano, Bernard or Williams off the field.  I do want us to move towards more 4 - 3 but I want Taron on the field as well.  I don't see any reason why Taron can't slide to FS.  I'd like to see Bishop starting at SS.  When we go five DB's, Taron slides back to slot and Rapp comes in as second safety.  Lewis is fourth safety.

 

I don't see Douglas coming back.  Benford, assuming he's ok, is solid on one side.  If you can't trade Elam for anything worthwhile, do you save on cap by cutting him?  If not, might as well let him complete for a spot on the other side with Ingram and a draft pick.  If none of that works out, you're probably looking at a mid-season trade for a CB.  I'd like to see Hardy get some time at slot.  

 

If we add some talent up front, the foregoing should at least be serviceable.

[Back2Buff]

27 minutes ago, Old Coot said:

When we drafted Bishop he was said to have a grest head for the game. If that's true maybe he just needs some experience to get better.

 

He never played a FS role in college.  He has always been a closer to line of scrimmage safety.  The Bills need to stop drafting players that play one way in college, and then expecting the player to play a different role in the NFL.  

[SCBills]

33 minutes ago, colin said:

we need to get some actual talent in the secondary.  i kinda have hope for bishop, but he made quite a few mistakes.  rapp is what we've seen, hamlin is trash.  assuming benford's brain isn't leaking out of his nose, he'll be solid again next season.  I say we sign a stud or throw our first at a CB.  we need someone who can cover man and zone.

 

we'll need an actual athlete at FS too.

If this statement is true, there is zero reason to pay Benford.

 

As we stand, we have a recent 2nd Round pick at Safety, a highly paid slot corner and a CB1 who looks to command a 20M+ AAV contract. 
 

That’s 3/5th of the Secondary.  

[DeltaDigital]

2 hours ago, KOKBILLS said:

 

It's the deepest prospect S Draft I can remember and I've been doing this amateur scout thing for over 35 years...

 

It's not really top heavy as far as top 15-25 guys... But overall it's crazy deep IMHO...

let's see if beano pulls the trigger on a desperately needed Hamlin replacement

[bigK14094]

Beneford can't run with the burners.  So, he is limited to what he  can do in McD's scheme.  He may grade out well, but, man coverage is a problem for him.  He was a late draft choice for a reason....lack of top end speed.  Douglas is clearly on a lower plane than he was in 23, just getting older.  Bills would only retain him for veteran minimum, as he is better than Ingram or Lewis.  Johnson had only a fair year, but he is still solid, maybe the game breaker he was a few years ago.  Yup, new talent is needed in these positions.    

As for safety, Rapp and Bishop can play, just not at the level we have been used to.  Bishop may yet develope into the player we need.  Hamlin should not  be retained, good slow soldier.  But, a good tackler like him might hang on in the margins.  Again, one of the top thre draft choices needs to go here.

 

Looks like a DE, CB and Safety round 1 and two to me. (where the Bills have three picks)   Another late round db might also be picked if he  has the speed necessary to cover the burners.

[DapperCam]

59 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Looking at these scores I can't even figure out of a lower number is better or worse!!

 

Which in itself, could be a reason for concern!!

Ha, that is their ranking out of all players at that position this season. So a low number would be better (they have Benford as 5th best CB in the league).

 

It tells us that PFF felt like we had 2 starter quality players out of the 5 DB starting positions (6 in a dime package).

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Bills probably sign Dane Jackson when cut and Levi Wallace.

[TheBeaneBandit]

24 minutes ago, bigK14094 said:

Beneford can't run with the burners.  So, he is limited to what he  can do in McD's scheme.  He may grade out well, but, man coverage is a problem for him.  He was a late draft choice for a reason....lack of top end speed.  Douglas is clearly on a lower plane than he was in 23, just getting older.  Bills would only retain him for veteran minimum, as he is better than Ingram or Lewis.  Johnson had only a fair year, but he is still solid, maybe the game breaker he was a few years ago.  Yup, new talent is needed in these positions.    

As for safety, Rapp and Bishop can play, just not at the level we have been used to.  Bishop may yet develope into the player we need.  Hamlin should not  be retained, good slow soldier.  But, a good tackler like him might hang on in the margins.  Again, one of the top thre draft choices needs to go here.

 

Looks like a DE, CB and Safety round 1 and two to me. (where the Bills have three picks)   Another late round db might also be picked if he  has the speed necessary to cover the burners.

Very true. If he left for greener pastures (money) you would likely see a Josh Norman situation.

[dayman]

3 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I guess we can no longer call McDermott the DB whisperer. He actually needs talent like everyone else.

He’s good with LBs

[BananaB]

2 hours ago, Pasaluki said:

 

Yes! Thank you. They need a FS. Hamlin had some good moments but they never replaced Hyde's output to say the least. Elam is finished at least on the Bills I hope he finds success elsewhere because WOW. 

 

I actually think the secondary isn't as bad as an integrated unit as the pff rankings suggest. The Dline is overpaid and doesn't help the secondary to the extent they should. I could see a really good FS having a big impact. 

They ain’t bad until it’s 3rd and long

[rajinka]

2 hours ago, Pasaluki said:

 

Yes! Thank you. They need a FS. Hamlin had some good moments but they never replaced Hyde's output to say the least. Elam is finished at least on the Bills I hope he finds success elsewhere because WOW. 

 

I actually think the secondary isn't as bad as an integrated unit as the pff rankings suggest. The Dline is overpaid and doesn't help the secondary to the extent they should. I could see a really good FS having a big impact. 

The dline was awful but how many times did we hear (random qb) is getting the ball out the fastest of the season against us?  is it scheme or our secondary getting beat off the snap? 

[TFBillsfan]

DL, Secondary and WR1 are positions that need a heavy dose of athleticism, physicality and speed. 
 

I don’t recall our secondary getting an INT that wasnt a severe overthrow. Our Safeties typically played 15 yards off the LOS as they were a liability getting beat deep and were atrocious blitzing. No wonder our 3rd down D was so bad. Minimal pass rush and super soft coverage isn’t stopping most competent NFL QB’s. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

3 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

It needs a complete overhaul.

 

The safety class is very strong in FA.  Only one of Bishop and Rapp should be on the field at once.  They both play the "Poyer" role, we never replaced Hyde.

 

Need a starting CB in FA.  I would use the draft to get a 3rd CB.  Ingram is fine as 4th.

We need to sign a really solid Safety and CB in FA.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, DapperCam said:

Ha, that is their ranking out of all players at that position this season. So a low number would be better (they have Benford as 5th best CB in the league).

 

It tells us that PFF felt like we had 2 starter quality players out of the 5 DB starting positions (6 in a dime package).

 

So it also tells us that Elam is one of the 25% best CBs in the league!! 

[finn]

3 hours ago, KOKBILLS said:

 

It's the deepest prospect S Draft I can remember and I've been doing this amateur scout thing for over 35 years...

 

It's not really top heavy as far as top 15-25 guys... But overall it's crazy deep IMHO...

That's good to hear. After this year, I would be happy to draft one starter-quality safety and two or even prospects to develop. 

 

Indulging in hindsight, I wish Beane had traded up for Cooper DeJean instead of down for Coleman. I realize Coleman may still end up to be terrific, but DeJean would have made a much bigger impact this year. 

[DapperCam]

Looking at these DBs, and then considering the fact that Benford missed the most of the game, it’s no wonder that our defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed.

[GASabresIUFan]

7 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

 

Rapp and Bishop are both SS.  The Bills not having a ball hawking FS has hurt this team over the last few years.  In his prime, Hyde was one of the best, but when he got hurt and lost a step, it hurt this defense.  

 

The Bills need to bring in a starting FS.  Rapp and Bishop should be competing for SS next year.

Bishop can play either safety position.  Here is what Chris Simms said on draft day.