Bills Duo Checks In on Top-32 CB Rankings
As the Buffalo Bills attempt to defend the likes of receivers like Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Davante Adams in the AFC, a new countdown says they have two of the league's better cornerbacks to do so.
Pro Football Focus released its rankings of the top 32 cornerbacks ahead of the 2023 season this week. Two-time Pro Bowler Tre'Davious White checked in at No. 15 on the list while slot cornerback Taron Johnson came in at No. 23.
Here's what PFF had to say about White:
"At times, 2022 felt like Buffalo waiting until White was back from injury before their run could really start," PFF wrote. "And while he definitely made an impact when he returned, he didn’t produce his best play, which is now multiple years in the rearview mirror. At his best, White has been an elite cover cornerback, but injuries have derailed each of his past two seasons. He needs to get back to 100% to rediscover that form."
A first-round pick out of LSU in the 2017 NFL Draft, White emerged as one of the best cornerbacks in the sport in 2019, when he had 58 combined tackles, 17 passes defended, six interceptions, four tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles. That season, White was one of two First-Team All-Pro selections at cornerback, joining Stephen Gilmore of the New England Patriots, who was also that year's Defensive Player of the Year.
As PFF mentioned, though, White suffered a torn left ACL in a Thanksgiving evening win over the New Orleans Saints during the 2021 campaign, an injury that cut into two seasons. White was limited to 11 games in 2021, and then only six in the regular season a year ago.
Now 28, White is entering a crucial season in 2023. Beyond the Bills' continued Super Bowl aspirations, if he doesn't return to his previous form this season, it could end up being his final one in Buffalo. The four-year, $69 million deal that White signed in September of 2020 has an out after this season, where the Bills could release him and be left with $10.4 million in dead cap space in 2024, as opposed to carrying his $16.6 million cap hit. At the very least, White could be squeezed to a take a pay cut if the 2019-2020 version of him doesn't re-emerge this season.
And here's what PFF had to say about Johnson:
"Johnson has taken ownership of the slot role in Buffalo's defense since being drafted in the fourth round in 2018," PFF wrote. "Over the past two seasons, he has earned his best two PFF coverage grades (75.3 and 73.2), making 72 defensive stops in the span. Johnson had some plays he would want back last year but is on the right track and one of the better slot cornerbacks in the game."
Johnson was a fourth-round pick out of Weber St. in 2018, and posted 90 combined tackles and six tackles for a loss a year ago.
The Bills have a tight-knit group in the secondary, something that the team will hoping helps catapults them to the Super Bowl this season. If White and Johnson live up to their offseason ranking, Buffalo's defense will be an even scarier sight than before.
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