The Buffalo Bills were in need of some depth at the safety position entering the 2021 NFL Draft and they have seemingly found it with the selection of Damar Hamlin. He was selected in the sixth round with the 212th overall pick and even though he was one of the last picks, he has a good chance of making the 53-man roster as a rookie.
This is a closer look at the depth chart at safety for the Buffalo Bills after the 2021 NFL Draft.
Starter: Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer
Second: Jaquan Johnson, Damar Hamlin
Third: Josh Thomas
The Buffalo Bills have typically only had four safeties on their 53-man roster under Sean McDermott. The Bills haven’t necessarily needed great depth at the position with how durable Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer have been over the past four seasons with the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills will continue to lean on that and limit the number of safeties they have on the roster. If this is the direction they go, then one of the three backups will likely be cut and there is a strong case for each of the three to make the 53-man roster.
At this point though, the one player that I believe would be the odd-man out would be Josh Thomas. He joined the team last year as an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State and spent most of the year on the team’s practice squad.
The fact that he does have a year in the system should give him an edge over Damar Hamlin for that final spot. However, Damar Hamlin played a lot at the University of Pittsburgh and is more experienced. This should help him step in and earn one of the final spots on the 53-man roster.