Christian Benford Is Quietly Becoming A Superstar
Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Normally, when you think of athletes that come out of the University of Villanova, football isn’t the first sport that comes to mind. They have no shortage of hoops stars in their history, including (but not limited to) Kerry Kittles, Kyle Lowry, and Jalen Brunson.
But we’re not here to talk about March Madness, just Gridiron Greatness. While Villanova’s football program is less notable (the only Hall of Famer in their 130-year history is Howie Long), it has produced a fair amount of NFL talent. And right now, one of those players is quietly shining brightly for the Buffalo Bills.
Who's the top outside CB in the NFL for '24?
The Bills Christian Benford is making his case for All-Pro this year.
Via @FieldVisionMi
— pic.twitter.com/aGl5G7oVUG— Cody Alexander (@The_Coach_A) November 22, 2024
Christian Benford came from humble beginnings, which were extensively profiled by The Athletic. At Villanova, he established himself as a workhorse who could outwork everybody on the roster and as someone that the team can rally around. His strong play for the Wildcats caught the attention of the Bills, who used a sixth-round pick on him in 2022. He quickly made his presence known.
The #Bills found a gem in CB Christian Benford!
That's a rookie taking on Derrick Henry 1 on 1!#BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/xCr8Ahjs0t
— Dave Myers BIB (@DaveMyersBIB) September 20, 2022
For a position where flashy interceptions and acrobatic pass break-ups get players incredible notoriety (*cough* even if their coverage stats aren’t the best *cough*), Benford is quietly and effectively doing his job as a lockdown corner. PFF has him graded as the ninth-best of 112 cornerbacks in the league. He’s the third-highest-graded defensive player on the Bills, and his PFF coverage grade of 79.4 ranks eighth-best in the entire NFL. He’s allowed 31 yards or fewer in coverage in every game but one in 2024. Benford has also only surrendered one touchdown in coverage Since Week 1, which occurred by the slimmest of margins.
Benford is the defensive equivalent of a rock-solid offensive lineman — he doesn’t get a lot of notoriety, but he has done about as good of a job as anyone in terms of preventing people from making plays. In fact, it’s better when you don’t hear his name on a broadcast. When you don’t hear his name, you know he’s not giving up chunk plays. Even if he’s not the most noticeable player in the league, he certainly deserves more praise than he gets.
“C.B. is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met,” Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard said. “He’s a dude with unwavering confidence in himself and his abilities, which you need at corner. The ability to flush it and move on to the next play, it’s unlike anybody I’ve ever seen.”
Benford was drafted in the same year that the Bills drafted fellow defensive back Kaiir Elam in the first round. Elam, whose pure athleticism was widely expected to make him a fixture in Buffalo’s secondary, instead struggled in his rookie season and watched Benford, the technician and workhorse of the position, take away his snaps. That’s not to say that Elam’s career was DOA — instead, Benford elevated Elam’s work ethic, and the top young corner’s play has improved as a result.
“He’s always down to work,” Elam said. “He’s just always trying to sharpen his tools. He’s the ultimate at wanting to get better.”
He might only have one interception in all of 2024; that said, he’s a legit lockdown corner, the kind of weapon that every coach can’t get enough of. There are 96 cornerbacks who’ve been targeted 20 times or more this season. Of that group, Benford ranks sixth in yards per completion (8.0). Benford has 388 coverage snaps through Week 11, which is tied for 16th in the league.
“I think, more than anything, he just continues to work hard every day to try to be the best that he can be,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “He just does a really good job at staying on task and honing in on what his job is every week and how he wants to improve. You’re seeing the results of that.”
Benford is part of a crowded and talented cornerback room that includes 2023 Second Team All-Pro Taron Johnson and journeyman Rasul Douglas. Johnson, in addition to linebacker Terrel Bernard, are the two most recent AFC Defensive Players of the Week. Benford, on the other hand, is simply a player who shows up, does his job, doesn’t ask for or need praise or anything of the regard, as long as he can help the Bills compete in the pass-heavy AFC. He may not record the flashy interceptions that make Dov Kleiman’s Twitter account go “OH MY GOODNISS PLAY OF THE YEAR??? *jaw drop emoji*. That said, his ability to be the kind of shutdown corner that quarterbacks don’t want to throw to makes him more deserving of his flowers throughout the NFL.
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