• Benford put collectively a powerful 2023 season: Benford completed the 2023 season because the No. 13 participant in PFF’s cornerback rankings.
• His 2024 marketing campaign is off to an amazing begin: Benford ranked first in PFF’s cornerback rankings heading into Week 2.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full entry to all our in-season fantasy instruments, together with weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and extra. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
Two weeks into the 2024 NFL season, there’s an enormous storyline rising in Buffalo.
While many of the plaudits for the Buffalo Bills rightfully go to their offense, led by Josh Allen, cornerback Christian Benford continues to exceed expectations on protection.
On a unit that options future Hall of Famer Von Miller and high-profile former first-round draft picks in inside defensive lineman Ed Oliver and edge defender Greg Rousseau, Benford simply is likely to be the crew’s greatest participant on that aspect of the ball.
It gained’t come as a shock to Bills followers and those that have been watching his movie for the reason that begin of the 2023 NFL season, however Benford is wildly underrated.
He has performed 83 protection snaps by means of two weeks of the 2024 NFL season, and has earned an 81.3 PFF protection grade that ranks sixth amongst cornerbacks. Benford was focused simply as soon as within the Bills’ season-opening win over the Arizona Cardinals, however he didn’t surrender a reception on that focus on.
While he did permit 4 receptions in a Week 2 Thursday Night Football win over the Miami Dolphins, that got here on 9 targets. And the catches went for simply 25 yards, with just one reception leading to a primary down. Through the primary two video games of the 2024 season, Benford has the identical variety of interceptions as first downs allowed in protection — one.
He headlined PFF’s cornerback rankings forward of Week 2, with PFF’s John Kosko saying, “Benford completed the 2023 season because the Thirteenth-best cornerback within the NFL, and he begins this season on high after a powerful Week 1 efficiency. He performed 32 significant protection snaps (we eliminated display passes from the information set) and was focused simply as soon as. His superior grading was excellent, with a 100% optimistic grade fee and no downgrades in Week 1.”
Along along with his spectacular protection efficiency, Benford’s tackling has been a serious optimistic. He has extra tackles leading to a defensive cease, two, than missed tackles, zero, by means of two weeks. That was one among his greatest strengths in 2023, too, with Benford lacking simply 1.9% of his deal with makes an attempt — a clip that ranked second amongst all gamers on the place.
If you weren’t already conscious of Benford, now is an efficient time to begin paying consideration. There’s each probability he shall be universally thought to be one of many league’s greatest cornerbacks by the tip of this season.