Bills Position Battles Not Over: ‘Competition Continues!’

Terrel Bernard and Christian Benford are among Buffalo Bills starters for now, but they will have to stay sharp.

Cornerback Christian Benford, taken 162 spots behind Kaiir Elam in the same NFL Draft, has beaten Elam and Dane Jackson out for a starting job with the Buffalo Bills to open the season on Monday night. 

In other close position battles, Terrel Bernard prevailed over Tyrel Dodson for the middle linebacker spot, and rookie guard O'Cyrus Torrence has moved past veteran former starter Ryan Bates and his four-year, $17 million contract on the depth chart.

That doesn't mean any of them are locked in. As the Bills have shown many times under coach Sean McDermott, they're not afraid to make in-season changes. So the new starters will have to keep performing.

This is particularly true of Benford. By just about every metric, Elam was the Bills' best cornerback not named Tre'Davious White last season. And White missed the first 10 games while recovering from a torn ACL the year before.

Kaiir Elam vs Christian Benford vs Dane Jackson in 2022

Coverages...
KE - 365
DJ - 592
CB - 234

INTs...
KE - 3
DJ - 2
CB - 1

Target %...
KE - 12.6
DJ - 13.3
CB - 14.4

Penalties...
KE - 3 (17 yds)
DJ - 5 (40 yds)
CB - 5 (59 yds)

Missed Tackle %...
KE - 7.7
DJ - 12.5
CB - 19.0

— Tweets by Sneaky Joe (@SneakyJoeSports) August 29, 2023

But for reasons likely behind the scenes, Elam hasn't earned the complete trust of the coaching staff.

"Over the course of spring and training camp, [Benford] was on his assignments," McDermott said Wednesday. "I think he contested balls and made some interceptions and made some plays on balls as well, so ... take it one play at a time."

The Bills moved up to take Elam in the first round last year, so suffice to say they aren't ready to give up on him.

"The competition continues," McDermott said. "It's just the nature, really, of the NFL. Take it one play at a time and control what you can. You're going to go out there and you're going to have some good plays and unfortunately some that you want back.

"When you're young, you're going to have to grow."

A major part of that is staying in the moment.

"I think if you're focused on the right things, you're focused on where you need to be and what you need to be focused on, you don't have time to look over your shoulder," McDermott said. "You focus on what's in front of you."