One of the most controversial choices of the 2026 NFL Draft for the Buffalo Bills was the selection of cornerback Davison Igbinosun in the second round. As training camp kicks off, it'll quickly become apparent if the choice was a wise one.
With position battles occurring across the roster, the fight for space at CB2 has become on of the priorities for most fans. As Christian Benford shows himself to be an excellent CB1, focus lies on the other half of the field.
A training camp battle for the Bills CB2
Most position battles this training camp are a mess, with three or even more players fighting for one starring role. There are three WRs competing for the WR2 place, and four fighting for the second starting safety position.
In this case, there are only two players truly fighting for the big job at cornerback, and neither are likely to win it outright. To find out who takes the majority of the role, the training camp battle will be fierce.
The idea that a defense can simply swap cornerbacks in and out based on matchups and gameplans isn't one that's been brought to fruition in all 100+ seasons of NFL football. It's an idea that gets flirted with every offseason, but never successfully implemented. One of these two will have the lions' share of play time.
The two-man race
Maxwell Hairston has the job anything but locked up. His training camp injury last season delayed his 2025 campaign. That issue likely set his entire career back by more than just a few months. His rookie season was an opportunity to make valuable mistakes, but instead he took the field when the Bills needed to win, and was benched when using him was too risky.
For that reason, Hairston enters this battle almost as much a rookie as Davison Igbinosun. For his worth, Maxwell Hairston is essentially still a rookie who ran a 4.28s 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He's got traits galore, and will carve out a valuable role in a defense that will have to rely on that speed at times.
The other side of the issue is- at least physically- an entirely different sort of cornerback. One could argue these two barely even play the same position, with the differences in their physical builds and approach to the role.
As much as Davison Igbinosun offers in a powerful and imposing sense, he loses in footwork and relies on contact to win reps. He is phenomenal at he catch point and strong enough to impact the game at every level. The answer to who wins the CB2 job lies somewhere in this training camp battle.
The issue between these two isn't only finding who's a better fit for the 2026 Buffalo Bills defense. It's also about finding any way at all to compare two cornerbacks as different as these.
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