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The AFC East is stacked with good cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
That includes the Buffalo Bills.
The football analytics outlet ranked the top-32 cornerbacks in the NFL heading into the 2023 season. Not every team was represented, but the Bills were twice. Buffalo’s Tre’Davious White and Taron Johnson slotted in at 15th and 23rd overall, respectively.
First, here’s PFF’s breakdown on White:
At times, 2022 felt like Buffalo waiting until White was back from injury before their run could really start. And while he definitely made an impact when he returned, he didn’t produce his best play, which is now multiple years in the rearview mirror. At his best, White has been an elite cover cornerback, but injuries have derailed each of his past two seasons. He needs to get back to 100% to rediscover that form.
And on Johnson:
Johnson has taken ownership of the slot role in Buffalo’s defense since being drafted in the fourth round in 2018. Over the past two seasons, he has earned his best two PFF coverage grades (75.3 and 73.2), making 72 defensive stops in the span. Johnson had some plays he would want back last year but is on the right track and one of the better slot cornerbacks in the game.
White’s analysis coming down to his knee injury suffered on Thanksgiving Day in 2021 is spot on. Prior to that, he was easily a top-10 cornerback but such a serious injury would set anybody back.
And while pass rusher Von Miller is adamant that he can return to 100 percent following his own knee injury in less than a year, others it takes more time. That’s the more typical reality for most.
There should be optimism that White, now being a year and a half removed from his original injury, could see an improvement in 2023.
Johnson, while a nickel cornerback, is deserving of his recognition as well. In most NFL defenses, the slot defender role is not a position on the field for every snap, every game. In Buffalo’s it is, and Johnson has long manned that position for the Bills. PFF recognizes that by acknowledging Johnson.
But the division has plenty of other top cornerbacks as well in PFF’s eyes. The Bills duo has some catching up to do in some cases.
Here’s where other cornerbacks from the AFC East were ranked on PFF’s list of the top cornerbacks in the NFL:
- 1. Sauce Gardner (Jets)
- 2. Jalen Ramsey (Dolphins)
- 17. Xavien Howard (Dolphins)
- 21. DJ Reed (Jets)
- 32. Jonathan Jones (Patriots)
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