The Buffalo Bills are entering a new era with Sean McDermott gone and Joe Brady now promoted to head coach. And while there is a bunch of excitement surrounding this team, the biggest question is if the defense will be able to get it done in key moments of the season.
That has been the knock on the McDermott teams as far too often, their defenses collapsed when it mattered the most. And the playoff loss to the Broncos was just another example of that. The Bills have a new defensive coordinator in Jim Leonhard, and the hope is that his multiple defense will give Buffalo some matchup advantages. But they still need the players to make plays.
That is why the improvement of some of the younger players on the roster will be so vital to their success this season. They need several players to take a big step forward, including third-year safety Cole Bishop.
Bishop is on the verge of stardom for the Bills
In a recent article by Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus, he named the 20 players who are set to make huge improvements in 2026 and become leaders at their position. That list included Bishop, who became a key starter for the Bills last season. Here is a snippet of what he had to say about the former Utah star:
“Bishop took a step last season, bolstering his overall PFF grade from 52.0 to 66.5. Much of that was galvanized by better coverage work, where Bishop allowed only a 45.7 passer rating when targeted. Along similar lines, the Utah product ranked in at least the 67th percentile in coverage grade in both the box and slot.”
It remains to be seen how the Bills plan on deploying Bishop this season, but after trading Taron Johnson to the Raiders, it seems likely that Bishop could spend more time in the slot. But as Locker mentioned in the piece, the expectation is that Bishop will play all over the field in Buffalo, and that should help unlock his ceiling.
With the addition of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, the Bills now have two safeties who can play in the slot and as a traditional free safety. And the hope is that Geno Stone or Jalen Kilgore can be that other safety who rotates for the big nickel packages.
Buffalo’s defense is incredibly young, and they should be more versatile than they have been in years past. But that versatility doesn’t matter if players don’t play well at multiple spots. That's been an issue for the Bills in previous seasons.
However, given Leonhard’s track record of developing defensive backs and the current trajectory of Bishop, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where he becomes a high-quality starter this season. And if he can reach that level, there is no telling how good Buffalo’s defense could be this season after all the reinforcements the team has made on that side of the ball.
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