2022 Top 25 Buffalo Bills 25 and Under: No. 21 Damar Hamlin

Continuing on through our rankings of the Top 25 Buffalo Bills who are 25 years old or younger the next player to make the list is safety Damar Hamlin. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Pittsburgh.

Hamlin was an experienced safety entering the NFL Draft after playing 44 games in his final four seasons in college and had six interceptions, 21 passes defended, and 10 tackles for a loss.

Entering last season, Hamlin was expected to be a backup safety to Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. That is exactly what his role was as he played only 50 defensive snaps all season due to how durable Poyer and Hyde have proven during their time with the Buffalo Bills.

However, he did have a bigger role on special teams and played 35% of the special teams snaps last year. He finished his rookie season with two total tackles and two passes defended.

Is Damar Hamlin a future starter for the Buffalo Bills?

Entering this season, Hamlin should have the same role he did last year with the occasional defensive snap but primarily making his impact on special teams.

The question though is could Hamlin step in as a starter after this season? The Bills have had Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer as their starting safeties since 2017 but Poyer is entering the final year of his contract and Hyde only has two more years under contract.

Hamlin, along with Jaquan Johnson, would be the two best players on the roster to replace those two. That doesn’t necessarily mean Hamlin will and the Bills could look to add players in free agency and the NFL Draft to compete.

However, after two years with the team and working in this defensive scheme, he certainly will have a chance at being a starter.