One of the first draft picks Sean McDermott made as head coach of the Buffalo Bills turned out to be one of his best in the NFL Draft. After trading back with the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected cornerback Tre’Davious White.
He stepped in almost immediately as not only a starting cornerback but the top cornerback in this Bills’ defense. White improved season over season to the point where he would be named first-team All-Pro, as well as to the Pro Bowl, in 2019 after finishing with six interceptions, which was tied for the league lead that season.
According to Pro Football Reference, that season opposing quarterbacks had a QB rating of only 43.3 and Tre’Davious White did not allow a single receiving touchdown when quarterbacks threw his way.
This past year, White didn’t have the same dominant performance but was still pretty good and was selected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl. Pro Football Focus agreed and recently ranked him as the seventh best outside cornerback entering the 2021 season.
"White is right there with Howard as one of the best playmaking cornerbacks in the league. In all, 17.1% of the targets into his coverage have resulted in either a pass breakup or interception over his career, a top-five mark among qualifiers at the position. He also stands out as one of the better zone-coverage cornerbacks in the NFL, ranking in the 94th percentile of all cornerbacks on such plays during the 2020 season."
In 2020, White finished with 57 total tackles, three interceptions and 11 passes defended.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tre’Davious White is one of the most important players on this defense. The ability he has to lock down the opposing team’s top wide receiver gives the coaching staff more freedom to be aggressive in other areas.
Also, the fact the Buffalo Bills have a cornerback of his caliber doesn’t make the lack of consistency at the other outside cornerback position as big of a problem. The Bills have struggled to find a starter at that position but having a player like Tre’Davious White helps elevate the entire passing defense.
The Buffalo Bills secondary has had one of the better groups in the NFL over the past few seasons and cornerback Tre’Davious White has been a big reason for that.