Late-round rookie locks up roster spot during Bills' first preseason game
If you've been paying attention to the Buffalo Bills, then you've heard (or read) all about rookie sixth-round pick Christian Benford. But in case you've missed out on the reports coming out of camp: Benford has been challenging for one of the Bills' starting cornerback positions with Tre'Davious White on the PUP list. He's been […]
If you've been paying attention to the Buffalo Bills, then you've heard (or read) all about rookie sixth-round pick Christian Benford.
But in case you've missed out on the reports coming out of camp: Benford has been challenging for one of the Bills' starting cornerback positions with Tre'Davious White on the PUP list. He's been keeping pace with both first-round rookie Kaiir Elam and incumbent starter, Dane Jackson.
It's everything the Bills have wanted -and needed- with White sidelined and Elam dealing with the usual ebbs and flows that come during a rookie training camp. However, they still needed to see whether or not Benford's game in practice would translate onto the field under the lights.
Sure enough, it did Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts.
His fourth-down pass break-up on Michael Pittman Jr. is not only the highlight of the 38 defensive snaps played (which were the same amount as Elam, for what it's worth), but it's easily the highlight of Benford's impressive summer.
“We had to get off the field,” Benford said after the game. “And I did the technique and fundamentals that coach JB [secondary coach John Butler] had taught me, and made sure I locked in on that more so than who was lined up against me.”
Benford's Saturday made him a lock for the final 53-man roster. He is currently one of the top-4 corners on the team, even when including a healthy White in the mix. He's already shown enough promise through this short amount of time to where he'll at least be a special teams contributor in 2022.
And there's a great chance he could be even more than that.
Featured image via Shawn Dowd / USA TODAY NETWORK
