Buffalo Bills CB Christian Benford deserves a little more respect

AtoZ Sports

Kyle Crabbs discusses Buffalo Bills CB Christian Benford and how he was recently left off ESPN’s top 10 cornerbacks of 2025 rankings despite his exceptional play on the field

Transcript

00:00Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford has a legitimate claim for the title of the NFL's

00:06Rodney Dangerfield. I just can't get no respect.

00:12I'm Kyle Krabs with A to Z Sports and the Buffalo Bills paid Christian Benford

00:18handsomely this offseason to lock him in through the end of the 2029 season on a four-year

00:24$69 million contract extension. Benford was the team's sixth round draft choice in the 2022 NFL

00:32draft and was considered at the time the hedge to their first round pick, Florida cornerback

00:38Kyrie Elam. Elam has since been traded to Dallas and Benford has become, at least in the eyes of

00:44yours truly, one of the league's best cornerbacks. But not too many other outlets seem to agree.

00:50The ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently released the top 10 cornerbacks poll, according to over 70

00:58league scouts, executives, and coaches. Christian Benford did not receive a single top 10 vote from

01:05any of the 70 participants that were involved in the creation of the top 10 list. And that is

01:12mind-blowing to me. This is one of the best tackling corners in football. And I understand the

01:20cornerback position at its core is about covering wide receivers and taking away the football. Those

01:25splash plays are what is going to get everybody excited. It's going to drive down your pass for

01:31rating allowed. And that's the sexy part of the game at the cornerback position. But every opposing

01:37offensive coordinator in the NFL is going to go into a week of game planning saying,

01:41we want to make the corners tackle in the run game. Benford is one of the best tackling corners.

01:45He has more interceptions over the last two years, four, than he is credited with missed tackles

01:53across almost 1900 snaps, three missed tackles over the last two seasons. He's an elite run defender,

02:00an elite tackler. He's got elite instincts, and he plays in a defensive scheme that plays to his

02:05strengths. No, he's not going to win the underwear Olympics in the NFL combine. And his status as a

02:11sixth round draft choice probably has a lot to do with why his perception is what it is as a potential

02:19scheme-specific fit only. Our group at A to Z Sports also did our own cornerbacks rankings recently,

02:26and Benford checked in on that list at 17th. I had him ranked 7th, and one of my other colleagues

02:32had him ranked 10th. Someone else had him ranked 12th. So it's at least incremental progress from the

02:38ESPN poll. But I'm sitting here wondering, what does Christian Benford, after getting compensated

02:43by the pills and far-performing his draft status and being one of the most reliable players in

02:49football, doesn't give up yards after the catch, is stingy with his passer rating, is capable of

02:54playing physical, has good ball skills, good eyes, is athletic enough. What does Christian Benford

03:01have to do in 2025 to get a little bit of respect?

Category

Transcript

Recommended