The Buffalo Bills found their starting safety of the future. Brandon Beane drafted Utah defensive back Cole Bishop with their 60th overall pick and finally started the process of finding their future at the position. After the conclusion of Friday night's draft, he spoke to local media about their three new draft picks, including his shiny new safety. Here's what was said
Brandon Beane said he tried trading up for Bishop, but nobody took the call. So when Bishop fell to 60, "the whole war room celebrated".
Beane said Bishop has ball skills, but it didn't transfer to production on the field. He feels Bishop can reach that production in Buffalo's defense.
He told reporters that Bishop was the only player left that the Bills had a second-round grade on, fueling the calls to trade up.
To me, it sounds like the Bills got the safety they always wanted, and lucked out that he fell to 60th overall. Bishop has great ball-tracking skills, but for whatever reason, it didn't produce turnovers. He finished last season with two interceptions and four passes defended, which goes along with what Beane mentioned. It may take time to see his skillset contribute to turnovers on the field, but the Bills view Cole Bishop as a winner and a future star in this league.
As for the comment he made about trying to trade up, that contradicts everything Bills fans have been saying since Thursday night. Beane is aggressive when he needs/wants to be, and sometimes it works out. But in this case, it didn't work out, and they still got the player anyway and kept the extra draft picks.
As for the rest of the safety room, Bishop has a very good shot at locking down a starting job, and it may be Taylor Rapp's position. With Bishop and Mike Edwards' ball-tracking abilities back there and Bishop's coverage on tight ends, they did a nice job replacing Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer with the limited recourses they had.