Bills' 2022 Sixth-Round Draft Pick tabbed team's 'most underrated player'

The Buffalo Bills drafted a starter on Day 3 in 2022 and the small-school cornerback has made a successful transition into the NFL.

Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) steps up to tackle New York Jets running back Breece / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and

The Buffalo Bills welcome back all three starting cornerbacks from the 2023 defense, including 2022 sixth-round draft find Christian Benford.

Set for his third season as a pro, the 23-year-old Benford is the probable starter opposite Rasul Douglas. The Villanova product, who has started 19 of his 24 career appearances in the regular season, has been tabbed the Bills' "most underrated player" by Pro Football Focus.

Benford, who has three career interceptions and two forced fumbles, suffered a knee injury early during Buffalo's AFC Wildcard victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past January. He was unavailable for the Bills' 27-24 home loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

From PFF's Most underrated player on all 32 NFL teams:

"After playing just 363 snaps in his rookie season, Benford won one of the starting cornerback positions in 2023 and was on the field for 837 snaps despite injuries. He was the entire NFL’s highest-graded cornerback over the last two weeks (92.0). However, he played just 13 snaps in the postseason, hurting Buffalo’s chances of advancing."

PFF does Benford somewhat of a disservice by glossing over his rookie season and failing to mention his Week 1 status. After being selected No. 185 overall, Benford went onto win an Opening Day starting assignment as a rookie by beating out first-round draft pick Kaiir Elam. He broke his hand in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins and dealt with an oblique injury later on during the 2022 campaign.

With Benford, Douglas and nickel cornerback Taron Johnson leading the way, Buffalo's pass defense limited opponents to 6.05 yards per pass play (6th in NFL).