Life With Levi Wallace: Bills' Defense Still Effective Without Tre'Davious White

They've lost their All-Pro cornerback for the season but their pass coverage remains formidable.

Levi Wallace has gone from fighting for a starting spot to the Buffalo Bills' top cornerback in a matter of months.

The starting spot was earned. The CB1 position is a battlefield promotion that happened the moment Tre'Davious White was sidelined for the season by a ruptured ACL during a 31-6 win at New Orleans on Thanksgiving.

White's absence from the playing field doesn't mean his presence isn't still felt, Wallace pointed out Thursday.

"He's still around the building," Wallace said. "He's just always around, still trying to help out. So I don't feel like I'm alone out there, you know what I mean?

"He's texting me after the game, `like, you want to watch film, you want to talk about this?' I mean, he's still an All-Pro off the field too, a professional."

Wallace treated Dane Jackson the same way before and after beating him out for the starting spot this summer. Jackson, of course, has been elevated to a starter since White's injury and has never been made to feel he was working against Wallace.

That has continued now that Jackson is playing full time.

"I think me and Dane are close anyways, with him being a late-round draft pick," Wallace said. "I messaged him when he first got to buffalo and just kind of took him under my wing, as I do most of the corners here, because ... I know it's one of the hardest defenses to get and just to be a professional. I just try to pass on the knowledge that I've learned over the years. Even in the offseason, like I told you guys before, we're out here working in Buffalo together. Because things like that do happen, COVID and injuries happen. And I want the best for the Buffalo Bills, so you have to be ready whether me or Tre got hurt, regardless.

"... When Trey got hurt, just me having the most experience playing corner in the secondary, I think it was just brought on me. I just try to mold him to help him be a better player each and every week, which he's done a fantastic job of thus far. So just seeing him grow the way that he has, it's been unbelievable. I'm not going to say that's because of me. That's just the type of person he was. He accepted the challenge."

Wallace has raised his game in the process.

"He's really been consistent throughout the season," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier raved. "He's been very steady for us, hasn't had a lot of ups and downs. He's been a guy we've been able to count on week in and week out and really not have to worry about.

In the past, having Tre'Davious, you know people are going to stay away from him for the most part and you really want to know how [Wallace is] going to hold up against this guy or that guy. But that hasn't been the case in 2021. He's been really steady for us, he's gotten the job done.

"And then in Tre'Davious' absence, I think he's really helped Dane to go out there with confidence, giving him some tips and practice, helping him in individual drills. I think he's helped Dane's game. And we needed that."

Safety Jordan Poyer admitted how difficult it is to replace a player like White.

At the same time, he is just as pleased with Jackson being able to step right in and step right up.

"Dane came in and has done everything that we've asked him to do," Poyer said. "He's a guy we trust on the back end and I trust to be able to get the call right and understands how to execute it.  

"... I think that just shows the the camaraderie and how tight we are secondary."

In the five games Jackson has started, the Bills have allowed 15 points or less three times and 97 overall.

"The standard's the standard," Wallace said. "The standard has been here: Be the No. 1 pass defense and be the No. 1 overall defense, and that's what we strive for each and every week. I think just having them two in the back has definitely kept us together. And we're a close-knit unit anyway. We've been together for four or five years now, so nothing's changed."

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.