Will safety Cole Bishop start as a rookie for Buffalo Bills? – Deseret News

There are plenty of changes in the starting lineup at safety for the University of Utah, with Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki now in the NFL.

Bishop will also have to make a lot of changes in his new home, as the Buffalo Bills must replace both starting safeties on the back end of their defense.

Will Bishop end up starting in his first NFL campaign?

As a late second-round draft pick, the former Ute is expected to play a significant role in the Bills’ defense, especially with two longtime starting safeties, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, no longer with the team.

The next step in Bishop’s career begins this week, as Buffalo begins training camp.

The rookies already reported last week and the veterans reported to camp on Tuesday. The Bills open training camp with their first practice on Wednesday.

What does Cole Bishop bring to the Buffalo Bills?

Bishop comes to Buffalo after a successful career at Utah.

He started 29 games for the Utes over the past three seasons and was a three-time All-Pac-12 honoree, finishing his college career with 197 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 14 pass deflections, 7.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one forced fumble.

From the start, it was clear that expectations were that Bishop was a good fit in Buffalo – and that he would have the chance to contribute quickly.

“Bishop is at his best when playing with forward vision at the second and third levels of the field, and he joins a Bills defense that lined up two-on-one on a league-high 56.3 percent of its coverage snaps last season. That will allow Bishop to drive the ball up and down the field and attack lanes as a run defender,” ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote of Bishop shortly after he was the 60th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“When the Bills go into single coverage, Bishop can play the role of an enforcer underneath. Buffalo moved on from safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, so the door is open for Bishop to play an impact role as a rookie. He had 59 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions last season, doing a little bit of everything.”

What is the Buffalo Bills security situation?

Over the past seven seasons, Hyde and Poyer have started alongside each other for the Bills, combining for more than 200 starts in Buffalo.

Both players earned All-Pro honors in 2021, and Poyer was named to the Pro Bowl in 2022.

Today, Hyde is a free agent — he told WGRZ in May he would play for Buffalo in 2024 or retire — and Poyer signed with AFC East rival Miami after being released in March.

Bishop is the only rookie on a five-man safety group for the Bills.

The team’s most experienced safety is currently Taylor Rapp. He started 48 games over four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before joining Buffalo last year and played in all 16 games (including four starts) while recording 50 tackles, two pass deflections, one tackle for loss, one QB hit and one fumble recovery.

Mike Edwards is another veteran with starting experience. He played four seasons in Tampa Bay, starting 12 games in 2022, before joining Kansas City last season.

Rapp and Edwards both joined the league in 2019.

Damar Hamlin is in his third season with Buffalo, though it’s been less than a year and a half since his on-field cardiac arrest. Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News listed him as a potential candidate for cut.

Dee Delaney is an offseason acquisition and the seventh-year pro is on his fourth NFL team after three seasons with the Buccaneers.

Will Cole Bishop start as a rookie for the Buffalo Bills?

That creates a likely scenario in which Bishop will be viewed as a player who will be counted on to contribute early in his career — much like another former Ute, tight end Dalton Kincaid, who had a solid rookie season last year for the Bills and was listed as a breakout candidate this year by NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks.

Two national media outlets are split on whether Bishop will start for the Bills when the 2024 season begins in September. ESPN projected Rapp and Edwards to get the nods, while NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal placed Bishop in the starting lineup alongside Edwards.

In naming Bishop to their respective rookie impact rankings, NFL.com’s Chad Reuter and ESPN’s Field Yates point to certain aspects of his game that make him a candidate for early playing time.

“His speed, blitzing ability and man-to-man coverage skills will allow him to be on the field,” Yates wrote.

“Bishop will be one of the league’s best tacklers from day one, stopping running backs in the open field with his athleticism and knowledge of the game,” Reuter wrote, adding: “If Hyde re-signs with the Bills, Bishop’s role may not be as big right off the bat, but I think he could become a respected player early in his NFL career.”

In a piece by The Athletic’s Tim Graham during OTAs in June, Bills first-year defensive coordinator Bobby Babich explained that in order for rookies to earn playing time in his system, they have to prove they’re trustworthy. Bishop is one of those people.

“I saw a player that has a bright future, but he’s a rookie,” Babich told Graham of Bishop. “So there’s learning. There’s growth, and (safeties coach) Joe Danna is doing everything he can to get him up to speed as quickly as possible.”

Key dates ahead for the Buffalo Bills

Between now and the start of the regular season, when Buffalo hosts Arizona in its opener on Sept. 8, Bishop’s opportunities to prove he’s trustworthy will include practices and preseason games.

The Bills open the preseason with a home game against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 10.

After an away game at Pittsburgh on August 17, Buffalo will play its final preseason game at home against Carolina on August 24.

Two weeks later, it will be time for Bishop and the Bills to face the Cardinals.