'Experience Matters' - Dane Jackson Vs. Bills Rookie CBs: Who's Winning?
General manager Brandon Beane may have used the Buffalo Bills' most valuable draft pick on a cornerback earlier this year, but that won't guarantee the rookie a starting spot just yet.
Upbeat on the progress of promising first-round cornerback Kaiir Elam, as well as sixth-rounder Christian Benford, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said on Wednesday that as of now, the starting role remains Dane Jackson's who he said will see some snaps later this preseason.
"He's (Jackson) played games for us, his experience matters although it's limited in the grand scheme of things, but for us he's ahead of the rookie corners that we have," Frazier said.
Both Elam and Benford saw plenty of reps in last week's 27-24 preseason-opening loss to the Indianapolis Colts, with Frazier emphasizing the importance of this as the team "wanted to get as many views of our young corners as we could."
"We need to get a real good evaluation of the two of them and make a good decision leading up to our season opener," Frazier said.
And while the two youngsters remain in the 'evaluation' stage of their fledgling careers, Frazier was "impressed" with their inaugural NFL outings.
The veteran coach said the young duo were "physical," "good in man coverage," and "for the most part their eyes were where they should have been in zone."
Although he isn't getting ahead of himself just yet, knowing that the true test of their metal is still a few weeks away.
"Even though they're doing some good things now, just know when you get to the regular season, I mean there's a big bullseye on a rookie corners chest and there are more things thrown at you," Frazier said. "We're trying to throw as much as we can at them this time of the year, but there's nothing like being in game situations and the good thing is they're both very confident in their abilities and that showed in the way they played in this first preseason game and that's a big deal."
The next test heading Elam and Benford's way is the Denver Broncos on Saturday, who themselves are fresh off of a win against the Dallas Cowboys in which they passed for 285 yards and two touchdowns.
With this in mind, this week could be a sterner test for the rookies, especially with veterans typically playing progressively more as the regular season draws ever closer.
