Christian Benford....not just a zone corner

[Malazan]

Who were the people saying he was just a 'zone' corner?

[hondo in seattle]

Even though it's an unwritten requirement to hate PFF if you're in the Bills Mafia, I'll mention that PFF has Benford the #8 ranked CB going into 2025 and T. Johnson as the #19.

 

If Tre returns to peak form, and/or Max recovers and lives up to our hopes, this will be the best secondary CB trio we've had in a long time.

 

www.pff.com/news/nfl-cornerback-rankings-top-32-ahead-of-2025-nfl-season

 

Edited yesterday at 05:32 AM by hondo in seattle

[NewEra]

8 hours ago, Logic said:

 

Thanks for posting.  He’s so rock solid.  2 missed games due to injury vs KC in the playoffs is such a bummer.  I’m confidant that we win at least one of those games with him out there.  Probably both.  Complete stud and probably our second best player overall.  

[The Jokeman]

So much for converting him to Safety lol

[Orlando Buffalo]

Either the people ranking them are mentally stunted or we overpaid. And I have watched his every game, we did not overpay, though Ramsey agent is underpaid

 

 

[BigAl2526]

It is amazing that so many colleges missed his potential.  Villanova, really?  

[Sojourner]

6 hours ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

Either the people ranking them are mentally stunted or we overpaid. And I have watched his every game, we did not overpay, though Ramsey agent is underpaid

 

 

Those guys are all top in the league however the fact Benford isn’t included is the odd part, defo a top 10 guy in this league. Certainly ahead of 7-10 on that list. 

[Rousseauisnoschmo]

Great player and quiet as a church mouse. Never hear a word from this guy. Just goes about his business. Pro's pro.

[GunnerBill]

7 hours ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

Either the people ranking them are mentally stunted or we overpaid. And I have watched his every game, we did not overpay, though Ramsey agent is underpaid

 

 

 

The top four corners in football are Surtain, Sauce, Stingley and McDuffie (and it is Surtain #1 and the other three are close together). You can have an argument about who is #5 and the order thereafter. But anyone who doesn't think those four are the four best guys is simply wrong. 

 

And Benford is definitely in that 5-10 range as well. But low profile, 6th round pick, will take time for him to get all the recognition he is due.

Edited yesterday at 10:00 AM by GunnerBill

[Pete]

18 hours 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 bought a Milano jersey online in summer of 2022(Benfords rookie season).  For some reason they had Benford jerseys, at a super low price($20 or something).  Why do they have a 6th round pick Jersey?  Why so affordable? In preseason, you could see Benford could play.  I bought the Milano and the Benford Jersey then, and I have been rocking a Benford jersey his entire career.  Now we all know, Benford is elite

25 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The top four corners in football are Surtain, Sauce, Stingley and McDuffie (and it is Surtain #1 and the other three are close together). You can have an argument about who is #5 and the order thereafter. But anyone who doesn't think those four are the four best guys is simply wrong. 

 

And Benford is definitely in that 5-10 range as well. But low profile, 6th round pick, will take time for him to get all the recognition he is due.

Benford is better than Sauce IMO.  He is excellent tackler, superior to Sauce in that regard.  He creates turnovers more than Sauce.  He can excel in zone or press.  And Benford take away another teams #1 just as well.  Christian Benford belongs in top 4 NFL CBS IMO

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, Pete said:

 

Benford is better than Sauce IMO.  He is excellent tackler, superior to Sauce in that regard.  He creates turnovers more than Sauce.  He can excel in zone or press.  And Benford take away another teams #1 just as well.  Christian Benford belongs in top 4 NFL CBS IMO

 

He isn't. 

 

And I am the biggest Benford guy going. But Sauce is still an absolute stud. 

[Pete]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

He isn't. 

 

And I am the biggest Benford guy going. But Sauce is still an absolute stud. 

I respectfully strongly disagree.  If Jets offered Sauce for Benford I would laugh in their face

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Pete said:

I respectfully strongly disagree.  If Jets offered Sauce for Benford I would laugh in their face

 

If you want to argue that Benford played slightly better in 2024, I could take that as a reasonable argument. But Sauce's first two seasons were absolute elite of elite and he was still very good in 2024. He has also given up fewer touchdowns in coverage in his 3 year NFL career than Benford gave up in 2024. 

 

There is a gap after that top four for me. They have clearly separated. 

[Pete]

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

He isn't. 

 

And I am the biggest Benford guy going. But Sauce is still an absolute stud. 

you disagree that I respectfully disagree?

 

PFF ratings agree with me.

 

Benford 82.6 overall rating

Sauce  70.2  overall rating

 

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/christian-benford/79181

 

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/sauce-gardner/100903

 

I know PFF is not all that.  But it provides some data helping prove Benford is superior.

 

Benford- better tackler. MUCH more physical.

 

Benford- better at creating turnovers.

 

Sauce possibly maybe a hair better at coverage.  But Benford can shut down oppossing  WR just as well

10 minutes ago, Pete said:

I respectfully strongly disagree.  If Jets offered Sauce for Benford I would laugh in their face

Benford is ascending.  Sauce is not as good as he was 2 years ago.  Players trending different directions.  Its a what "can you do for me today, not what did you do yesterday league"

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, Pete said:

you disagree that I respectfully disagree?

 

PFF ratings agree with me.

 

Benford 82.6 overall rating

Sauce  70.2  overall rating

 

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/christian-benford/79181

 

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/sauce-gardner/100903

 

I know PFF is not all that.  But it provides some data helping prove Benford is superior.

 

Benford- better tackler. MUCH more physical.

 

Benford- better at creating turnovers.

 

Sauce possibly maybe a hair better at coverage.  But Benford can shut down oppossing  WR just as well

Benford is ascending.  Sauce is not as good as he was 2 years ago.  Players trending different directions.  Its a what "can you do for me today, not what did you do yesterday league"

 

Sauce had his worst year in the NFL last year (was still very good) and Benford had his best year. Last year they were close, for sure. I can take an argument as I say that if you isolate 2024 alone your perspective isn't unreasonable. 

 

But Sauce has two absolute elite of the elite seasons under his belt. If you look at his PFF grades for 2022 and 2023 they agree with that. And when you look at catches and touchdowns given up and passes defensed Sauce still has a significant advantage. 

 

But the Sauce disrespect has gone way over the top. I know he is a Jet and we hate the Jets but he is an absolute stud. 

[BillsFan130]

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Sauce had his worst year in the NFL last year (was still very good) and Benford had his best year. Last year they were close, for sure. I can take an argument as I say that if you isolate 2024 alone your perspective isn't unreasonable. 

 

But Sauce has two absolute elite of the elite seasons under his belt. If you look at his PFF grades for 2022 and 2023 they agree with that. And when you look at catches and touchdowns given up and passes defensed Sauce still has a significant advantage. 

 

But the Sauce disrespect has gone way over the top. I know he is a Jet and we hate the Jets but he is an absolute stud. 

Good points and it's definitely an interesting argument on who's better.

 

I think it's pretty clear that:

 

-Sauce has had a better total career so far 

 

-Benford had a better 2024 and seems like he's ascending.

 

It's really hard to project who will be better in 2025 and onwards. Both are great players 

 

 

[JP51]

Saw a pic of him standing next to Max... that dude is also a physical specimen.... they list him at 205... he looks closer to Bernard than 205... maybe optics... 

[VW82]

The big remaining question for Benford (and all our DBs really) is can he improve in man press alignments. We haven’t really had anyone who could do that since prime Taron (who got smoked last year the few times we tried like vs. Rams).
 

I think McBeane understand this has been a weakness which is why we targeted guys like Hairston, a zone CB but someone with the wheels to in theory play without a cushion, and Dorian Strong who seemed to show man press ability in college. 

Edited 18 hours ago by VW82

[Don Otreply]

How about that Trent McDuffe…, 

 

 

 

 

 

🤣

[Ecmic82]

7 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

Good points and it's definitely an interesting argument on who's better.

 

I think it's pretty clear that:

 

-Sauce has had a better total career so far 

 

-Benford had a better 2024 and seems like he's ascending.

 

It's really hard to project who will be better in 2025 and onwards. Both are great players 

 

 

It’s possible that the league (ops and refs, not teams and players) are catching up to the way Sauce likes to play corner, in a way that might be detrimental to his career arc.

 

I’m not a Sauce expert, but from my anecdotal viewing experience it’s obvious he’s a grabby cornerback to a degree which you rarely see. Not physical, but grabby, in that he’s constantly using his hands to manipulate and impede his receiver before the ball arrives. He’s got that reputation even among Jets fans and NFL analysts who watch his every play. Not his fault, the best players are also often the best at getting away with stuff. But what happens if that goes away for him?

 

He was called for more coverage penalties last year than his first two years combined (went from near the bottom of the league to near the top), and his passes defensed were cut in half compared to that same time frame. This could be a random result of small sample size, but I think there’s a real possibility that the NFL has become acutely aware of his play style and the narrative that surrounds it, and has made an honest effort to adjust how they ref him, not in a malicious way, but in a way that acknowledges the reality observed by most everyone that watched his first two years: he relatively often got away with stuff well outside the bounds of legal coverage.

Edited 15 hours ago by Ecmic82