Christian Benford....not just a zone corner

[Logic]

 

[BuffaloBill]

Interesting - the Bills really came up with later round find in Benford. Good for them to also lock in the extension.  

[DJB]

Firstly he’s such a stud and I can’t believe Beane signed him to such a cheap contract. One of Beanes best deals

Secondly with more expected man coverage looks this further solidifies my belief that we can expect big things from more man coverage looks 

 

Edited Thursday at 02:09 PM by DJB

[Mat68]

He is wildly underrated.  His draft status impacts his perception.  He is who fans and media think Sauce Gardner is.  

[MPL]

I anticipate he'll at least earn his first pro bowl this year after hard knocks exposes him to a broader audience... not that pro bowl means anything anymore

[Udubalum07]

I think he is also a little overlooked because he just goes about his business. He doesn't have a cool nick name, he doesn't talk a lot like Ramsey, so people just don't know much about him. 

 

He is an absolute stud of a corner. All the stats of yards per route and touchdowns given up in the top 3 of the league. I think he would need to have a 5 to 7 interception type season to get more national recognition. It may happen if the defense does end up being more aggressive and forces more forced errors with pressure.

[Pete]

1 hour ago, DJB said:

Firstly he’s such a stud and I can’t believe Beane signed him to such a cheap contract. One of Beanes best deals

Secondly with more expected man coverage looks this further solidifies my belief that we can expect big things from more man coverage looks 

 

Groot, Brown, and Benford all gave Buffalo hometown discounts- kudos

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

The day he was drafted, I predicted he would be a stud! Reminded me of my man Terrence McGee. 
 

maybe the only time I was right about something!  😀

[Logic]

1 hour ago, Mat68 said:

He is wildly underrated.  His draft status impacts his perception.  He is who fans and media think Sauce Gardner is.  

 

7 minutes ago, Udubalum07 said:

I think he is also a little overlooked because he just goes about his business. He doesn't have a cool nick name, he doesn't talk a lot like Ramsey, so people just don't know much about him. 

 

He is an absolute stud of a corner. All the stats of yards per route and touchdowns given up in the top 3 of the league. I think he would need to have a 5 to 7 interception type season to get more national recognition. It may happen if the defense does end up being more aggressive and forces more forced errors with pressure.

Both correct.

I said here before: His late round draft pedigree, jersey number, low key demeanor, and even his name...all lead to his being low profile. He also doesn't make a lot of splashy plays, but that's because he doesn't get thrown at much.

As another poster said, he's what people think Sauce Gardner is. But he doesn't have a cool nickname or a single digit jersey number and he wasn't drafted high, so people don't know about him.

He's legitimately one of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL, and if you went and asked 100 casual NFL fans about him, a large number wouldn't even know who he is. 

 

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, Logic said:

 

Both correct.

I said here before: His late round draft pedigree, jersey number, low key demeanor, and even his name...all lead to his being low profile. He also doesn't make a lot of splashy plays, but that's because he doesn't get thrown at much.

As another poster said, he's what people think Sauce Gardner is. But he doesn't have a cool nickname or a single digit jersey number and he wasn't drafted high, so people don't know about him.

He's legitimately one of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL, and if you went and asked 100 casual NFL fans about him, a large number wouldn't even know who he is. 

 

 

 

My only slight pushback on this is Sauce is still very good. He wasn't as stand out in 2024 as he was in 2023 and 2022 but he is still a good player. I think the overreaction is at risk of going too far the other way on him now...... 

 

But I agree with every word on Benford. He is a top 10 NFL corner he is not just a 6th round overachiever who fits a specific type of zone scheme. He is one of the best cover corners in football. He deserves his props. I think if he puts up another year like 2024 he will get it. We saw with the likes of Poyer and Milano here that they had to be great for 2/3 seasons before they got the national recognition. And its the same here, not flashy, just does his job, wasn't a day 1 or 2 draft pick.... takes time sometimes for those guys to get recognised. 

[machine gun kelly]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

Interesting - the Bills really came up with later round find in Benford. Good for them to also lock in the extension.  

It seems Beane is quite adept at finding these steals like Benford-6th, Milano-5th (I know it was a month before he took over the draft in 2017, but do you really think he wasn’t in McD’s ear even before he took over and yes I know they are not allowed, but guess they dealt with this together), the Diggs acquisition in free agency-5th rd., Dane-7th rd., and so on.

 

It’s his greatest among many strengths.  Sure he’s missed somewhat on top picks, ie. Elam, but our scouting dot., sure demonstrates he finds diamonds in the rough.

[TBBills Fan]

43 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

The day he was drafted, I predicted he would be a stud! Reminded me of my man Terrence McGee. 
 

maybe the only time I was right about something!  😀

Don't tell your wife

[nosejob]

56 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

The day he was drafted, I predicted he would be a stud! Reminded me of my man Terrence McGee. 
 

maybe the only time I was right about something!  😀

I kinda get the same feeling with Strong.

[eball]

So fortunate to have Benford.  Appears Gilmore still has something left in the tank as well…wonder where he’ll end up.

 

[SoonerBillsFan]

3 hours ago, DJB said:

Firstly he’s such a stud and I can’t believe Beane signed him to such a cheap contract. One of Beanes best deals

Secondly with more expected man coverage looks this further solidifies my belief that we can expect big things from more man coverage looks 

 

He is very well compensated, but on a team with Allen and a shot at a title each year. SMART players take the cut to have that. Some though that are older may take the money to pad retirement.

[billsfan89]

Ironic that one of the reasons Benford was drafted so low was because he was viewed as a zone only corner with average athleticism who only played against lower midlevel college talent. McD might have been the perfect situation for him. 

[GoBills808]

he might be the most talented corner i can remember

 

prime tre white was the ultimate tactician but i think benford is physically superior

[MJS]

He is one of the best tacklers on the team, too, probably second to Rapp.

[Sierra Foothills]

He was athletically underrated entering the draft.

 

His RAS places him in the 82nd percentile and his 10 yard split and size is elite.

[Buffalo716]

I think people always over inflate Sean McDermott's use of zone defense 

 

People act like we're running 80% zone 20% man 

 

We run probably 40% man and it goes up on 3rd down.. Sean McDermott loves cover 1 on 3rd 

 

Christian Benford has been playing a good amount of man coverage for years and has always been good at it... 

 

You're not paying 76 million for a purely zone corner lol