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The Buffalo Bills roster is one of the deepest and most talented in the entire NFL. Because of this, the Bills depth chart was pretty much set well before the season begins. However, as the Bills preseason wears on, a few spots are still up for debate.
There are currently two spots on the Bills depth chart where the backup could overtake the starter before Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. On offense, second-year offensive lineman Spencer Brown is still trying to overtake veteran Dan Quessenberry. On defense, a rookie cornerback is pressing veteran Dane Jackson for starting role, but it’s not the one you may think.
Here are two Bills backups who can steal a first-string job ahead of 2022 NFL season.
Bills backups who can steal a first-string job in 2022
OT Spencer Brown
Last season, rookie right tackle Spencer Brown started 10 regular season and two playoff games for the Buffalo Bills. However, this season, veteran Dan Quessenberry has taken hold of that position on the Bills depth chart throughout the Bills preseason thus far.
Brown, a 6-foot-8, 311-pound tackle from Northern Iowa, played well last season and earned a starting role on the Bills roster. This season, though, things have changed.
The uber-athletic tackle had offseason back surgery and eased into training camp more slowly than the other offensive linemen. Head coach Sean McDermott told USA Today, “I don’t want to say he’s behind. I think he would say it’ll be knocking some rust off here a little bit. And we’re going to take it one period and one practice at a time.”
Since then, he’s been solidly behind five-season NFL veteran David Quessenberry on the Bills depth chart.
In addition to the injury, Brown is less adept at new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer’s zone blocking scheme. The young tackle is blocking well during the Bills preseason in the run game, but the pass protection hasn’t quite been up to snuff.
Spencer Brown is Buffalo’s right tackle of the future, but right now, that’s not bearing out on the Bills roster. The coaching staff surely wants to start Brown, but on a team as talented as Buffalo, they won’t do it unless he is truly the best option.
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The second-year player now has one more Bills preseason game vs. the Carolina Panthers, to show that he is back to full form and ready to roll for the regular season. If Brown can do that, he will be the Bills starting RT vs. the Rams in Week 1.
CB Christian Benford
It’s still unclear whether All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White will be back in the starting lineup in Week 1 as he recovers from an ACL injury suffered on Thanksgiving last season. Whenever he does come back at full strength, though, he will be CB1 on the Bills roster.
The other starting CB on the Bills depth chart right now is veteran Dane Jackson. However, there is a rookie who could take that spot if he keeps performing well in the preseason games and in camp.
Surprisingly, that rookie CB is not the team’s first-round pick out of Florida, Kaiir Elam.
The rookie CB who could take a starting spot on the Bills depth chart is sixth-round pick out of Villanova, Christian Benford.
The young corner did a great job covering the Indianapolis Colts’ Michael Pittman Jr. in the first preseason game. Benford did get an illegal contact penalty against the Denver Broncos, but Jackson and Elam drew flags as well.
The Bills didn’t pick Christian Benford to be a Week 1 starting corner. But with the team’s current injury situation and his performance, that could be exactly what he is.
