Cornerback 2
The second cornerback opposite Tre’Davious White has been an ongoing concern for the Buffalo Bills defense over the past few seasons now. With the way Tre’Davious White is capable of locking down his zone on one side of the field, it leaves just as much to be desired on the other half of the field. Furthermore, Taron Johnson had a great season and proved that he should be expected to lock down the nickel corner position for this upcoming season.
The Bills front office has done their work to fill this void over the past few seasons with free agent additions like Vontae Davis, Kevin Johnson, and Josh Norman, but none panned out as hoped. Since 2018, the top option at cornerback 2 has been Levi Wallace, the undrafted free agent from three years ago. Wallace has done a great job relative to his competition, but this offseason brings an impactful decision to the front office.
For the past three years, Wallace has been serving as the second cornerback on an undrafted free agent rookie deal. To be concise, the Bills have gotten far more than what they paid for when it comes to Wallace. This offseason, Wallace is a restricted free agent, meaning if the Bills wish to keep him they will have to pay him what he is worth or match whatever offer he accepts from competing teams. This begs the question, are Wallace’s contributions to the defense worth a bidding war?
Based on his performances from this past season, the answer to that question will probably be a no. However, Wallace is a restricted free agent and the Bills can bring him back at a team-friendly deal and let him compete for the starting job with any other players they may bring in.
With the number of times the Bills have taken Wallace out of the game without an injury, it makes you think that the coaching staff wasn’t too pleased with the number of big plays he was allowing. There were plenty of times this season when he was being noticeably picked on by opposing quarterbacks and the only option for the Bills was to take him out and try Norman instead.
Wallace has sound technique but lacks the twitchy athleticism to consistently stay in phase with athletic receivers. Norman has a physical presence that Wallace does not which allowed him to jam receivers off the line of scrimmage. Regardless, both left something more to be desired from the cornerback 2 position opposite of White.
Moving forward, the Buffalo Bills were expecting to get E.J. Gaines back for the 2021 season after opting out of this past season because of the pandemic. However, the team released him recently and he will be a free agent this offseason.
Looking to the draft, the top two prospects Caleb Farley and Patrick Surtain II will likely be selected before the Bills’ first pick at 30th overall. If the Bills want to grab either of these two guys it will likely require a trade-up from General Manager Brandon Beane. Some additional prospects to look into that may slip outside of the first round include Shaun Wade, Jaycee Horn, Asante Samuel Jr., and Paulson Adebo.
There are always plenty of cornerbacks to evaluate in every draft, but the names above are the marquee names to keep on the radar. With that being said, since joining the Bills Brandon Beane has had excellent success acquiring rookie cornerbacks.
The list includes White, Wallace, Johnson, and most recently last year’s 7th round pick Dane Jackson. If the Buffalo Bills decided to draft a cornerback in this year’s draft, fans should be confident in the selection given Beane’s success drafting at the position.