This is the 11th in a series looking at the status of each position before the Buffalo Bills report to training camp on July 23. This installment: Safeties.
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Rookie safety Cole Bishop, middle, has the pedigree to become a longtime starter for the Bills.
The Buffalo Bills allowed just one pass play of 40 or more yards during the 2023 season, the fewest of any NFL team.
The Bills also ranked first in fewest 40-plus-yard passes allowed in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and they were top 10 in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
It’s one example of the stellar run the Bills enjoyed with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer as the safety duo on the back line of coach Sean McDermott’s defense.
New cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae is impressed by the standard the Bills have set.
“It says they’ve done a nice job of being punctual, of making sure everything fits, all the pieces fit in the puzzle,” Addae said. “Whether it be the rush, because that also is a big component, whether it be the back-end scheme, whether it be the film study on what the opposition is doing. It’s multifaceted and you’ve got to be clean in all those spots.”
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Can the Bills stay so clean on the back end with their new safety tandem in 2024? It’s a big question entering training camp.
Poyer, 33, moved on to the Miami Dolphins. Hyde, 33, has endured multiple neck injuries and after playing 11 seasons, he remains a free agent.
Edwards has only one full year as a starter in his career – with Tampa Bay in 2022. But he started the final nine games of last season for the Chiefs, including all four playoff games and the Super Bowl win over San Francisco.
The Bills re-signed Taylor Rapp, last year’s No. 3 safety, to a three-year contract in March. They added free agent Mike Edwards on a one-year contract. He started down the stretch of Kansas City’s run to a second straight Super Bowl last season. Then the Bills invested a late second-round pick on the University of Utah’s Cole Bishop.
Those three need to combine to fill the big shoes of Hyde and Poyer.
Returnees: Rapp, Cam Lewis, Damar Hamlin.
Newcomers: Edwards, Bishop, Dee Delaney, Kendall Williamson.
Departures: Hyde (unsigned), Poyer (Dolphins).
Top battle
Bishop was the third safety taken in the draft, and he has the size, traits and college pedigree to be a starter in Buffalo for a long time. How fast can he prove he needs to be forced onto the field?
Experience matters a lot at the safety position. Would the Bills trust Bishop enough to start him early in the season? Keep in mind the fastest receiving corps in the NFL is in Miami, and the Dolphins await the Bills in Week 2.
Thus, it will be interesting to watch how much time the Bills give Bishop with the starting unit in training camp and preseason. At some point this season, one would think Bishop will eat into Rapp’s time in the starting lineup. Rapp saw most of his action last season as the third man in three-safety schemes.
What to expect
Kansas City trusted Edwards enough to start and play on the back end most of the time in the last five games of last season and all four playoff games. That makes him the favorite to hold down Hyde’s role in the free safety spot in Buffalo. As with most NFL defenses, the safety positions are largely interchangeable. Still, Hyde was on the back end more than Poyer during their careers.
The odds slightly favor Rapp over Bishop to start with Edwards to open the season. But that’s far from a lock.
Lewis solidified himself last season as a versatile backup, and was the main backup to Taron Johnson in the slot. Lewis played 13% of the defensive snaps, and 40% of his snaps were on the back end as a free safety, according to Pro Football Focus. He counts as both a safety and a cornerback.
Hamlin had a good spring. Is it possible the Bills could view Lewis as the fourth safety and bump Hamlin off the roster? Yes. But the expectation here is Hamlin will keep his No. 4 spot and Lewis will remain a valuable hybrid corner/safety.