The Buffalo Bills are dealing with a number of injuries on defense, particularly in the secondary. On Friday, the Bills had already ruled out starting safety Micah Hyde and starting cornerback Dane Jackson for Week 3.
The Bills also listed defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and Ed Oliver as out for this game against the Miami Dolphins.
This is not ideal for a defense that will be going up against two wide receivers who currently rank in the Top 3 in the league in receiving yards. However, the Bills have a few players who can help their secondary and when looking at the entire defense there are four players, in particular, to pay extra attention to that can have a major impact on the outcome.
4 Buffalo Bills on defense to watch in Week 3 against the Dolphins
Kaiir Elam
At the top of the list is cornerback Kaiir Elam, who was a first round pick by the Buffalo Bills and now should be in line for his first career start.
In the first two weeks, he has been rotating with sixth round draft pick Christian Benford while Benford has gotten the starts each week after moving ahead of him on the depth chart with an impressive training camp.
There is no question that this is not an easy matchup for your first career start going against the speed of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. However, Elam was one of the faster cornerbacks in this year’s draft class and the athleticism he brings certainly improves the cornerback position in that area.
It is going to be a big test for Kaiir Elam and the Dolphins have the advantage in this matchup but if he is able to limit the big plays from the wide receivers, it should give Buffalo a great chance in this game.