7 Bills trends to watch: Is Jordan Poyer going to earn a role on defense?
Personnel is one aspect of the evaluation that's taking place while players rest and recover during their bye week and one position in particular may be subject to change based on the defense's struggles during the Bills' 4-2 start to the season.
While sitting on the Buffalo Bills’ charter flight home late Monday night, coach Sean McDermott typed out a text message to send to his staff.
McDermott wanted more details on several issues that cropped up during their 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He wanted to deconstruct every area of their performance and how they operate, from the way they have practiced through six weeks to the substance of their meetings.
Bills safety Jordan Poyer, a member of the Bills’ practice squad this season, is a veteran who could provide valuable leadership in the secondary.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Personnel is one aspect of the evaluation that’s taking place while players rest and recover during their bye week, and one position in particular may be subject to change based on the defense’s struggles during the Bills’ 4-2 start to the season.
Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop, the Bills’ starting safeties, have failed to meet the standard that existed within that position group while Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde were one of the best tandems in the NFL.
Rapp has missed eight tackles and owns a concerning missed tackle rate of 25%, according to Pro Football Focus. Bishop has missed five tackles, a rate of 17.2%. Though Bishop has an interception, neither safety has a pass breakup. McDermott evaluated a potential replacement Monday night while Bishop was sidelined with cramps.
Poyer, a member of the Bills’ practice squad this season, played 18 defensive snaps against the Falcons. While Poyer was on the field, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed 3 of 7 passes for 15 yards with one sack and, not including a kneel to end the game, Atlanta gained 16 yards on eight carries.
“Well, let’s see,” McDermott said when asked if Poyer could be in line for a role on defense. “Again, when you go into a bye week in particular, you have a little bit more time on your hands to really hunker down and study things, study scheme, study all the hot spots, if you will.
”And that’s what I’ve asked the coordinators to do, is let’s identify the problems and then let’s get together on it and figure out the solutions and the best way forward. So in this case, it’s evaluating personnel, making sure that we’ve got the right people in the right places that can get the job done here for us.”
Someday, Poyer will be enshrined as one of the best players in franchise history. He had 22 interceptions in his eight seasons with the Bills before he joined the Miami Dolphins for 2024. According to PFF, Poyer missed 10 tackles in 964 snaps for Miami and allowed 12 yards per reception. The Bills’ defense is different, though. It’s unrealistic to expect him to suddenly become elite again, but could he be better than one of their current starters?
The Bills can elevate Poyer from the practice squad for game day two more times before they would need to sign him to the active roster, though a spot on the 53-man roster could be awarded to him sooner rather than later.
Here are other trends to watch as we wait for the Bills (4-2) to face the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 26:
1. Challenging
Teams are challenging Bills cornerback Christian Benford more often this season.In 2024, Benford was targeted on just 10.7% of his coverage snaps, the seventh-lowest rate among cornerbacks with at least 250 coverage snaps, according to Next Gen Stats. He allowed 0.5 yards per snap, the second fewest among that group.
This season, however, opponents have targeted Benford on 17% of his snaps and he’s already allowed half the receptions (18) that he allowed last season (36) and twice as many touchdowns (four to two). The Bills need Tre’Davious White to be more consistent, but they also need more from Benford, who they signed to a four-year contract extension in March.
From left, Bills safety Taylor Rapp, safety Cole Bishop, cornerback Taron Johnson and safety Jordan Poyer walk to the field last Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Can Poyer become a starter again? Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
2. Where’s Keon?
What’s going on with Keon Coleman?Over his last five games, Coleman has just 16 catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. He had eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Thirteen of his 35 catches have been within 9 yards, according to PFF, yet Coleman has gained only 8 yards after the catch on those receptions. They need to figure out how to use him.
Back-shoulder throws are low percentage plays, but the Bills keep trying them with Coleman when he has single coverage on the outside. Only seven of his targets have traveled 20-plus yards, and quarterback Josh Allen was intercepted on two of those throws. If he’s not a deep threat or turning short catches into long gains, then what’s his role in this offense? Coleman doesn’t turn 23 years old until May. Joe Brady was his third offensive coordinator in three seasons. Talent isn’t the problem with Coleman, but he needs to become more consistent.
“Keon had some 1-on1s (Monday night) that he’s obviously going to want back,” said Brady. “And those opportunities, those are things that he knows we’re putting him in those positions to make them. And I’ve got to make sure I’m doing the best job to put our players in position to have success, right? And if I’m not doing that, then I’m not doing my job well enough. And so that’s why I got to spend this time this week making sure that that we’re doing that, and we’re getting the matchups that we want, the people wherever we want.”
3. Bright spot
Bills rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker, a fourth-round draft pick, leads all NFL defensive linemen with 11 run stops, according to Pro Football Focus. His 13 tackles as a run defender are the top mark, and he’s been credited with four quarterback hurries on 88 pass-rush snaps.The Bills had to use Walker on a career-high 56 snaps against the Falcons because DaQuan Jones suffered a calf injury during pregame warmups that has him considered week to week. Though the team is adding an experienced defensive tackle with Larry Ogunjobi’s suspension over, Buffalo will need Walker to continue to make an impact and minimize the mistakes that he’s made as a run defender.
4. Screens
The Bills’ running backs have not been involved in their passing game this season.We saw a similar trend during the first half of 2024, too. Ty Johnson, who Allen called the best third-down back in the NFL, had five catches through nine games last season. He has two catches for 19 yards through six games this season. Despite the offense’s struggles the past two games, Brady has not used his running backs in the screen game.
Of the three, Johnson has run the most screen routes (four), and he has one reception for 0 yards. Patriots rookie TreVeyon Henderson leads all NFL running backs with 12 screen routes through six weeks.
5. Special Teams
The Bills are averaging 25.8 yards per kick return, tied for 11th in the NFL, and their 26 returns are tied for ninth most. Cornerback Brandon Codrington has a team-leading 14 kickoff returns, but wide receiver Curtis Samuel’s average of 27.7 yards per return is Buffalo’s best mark.Buffalo’s coverage units, meanwhile, have looked better over the past three games. McDermott isn’t satisfied, though. The NFL tweaked the dynamic kickoff during the offseason to create more returns and explosive plays, but the Bills’ returners aren’t getting enough key blocks.
“[Against the Falcons] we weren’t winning some of those 1-on-1s in our blocks to try and free up ‘B-Cod’ there,” said McDermott. “So we really couldn’t get him started. So I’ll expect that we’ll do a better job of that moving forward.”
6. Top target
Among tight ends to run at least 24 routes, Dalton Kincaid and Jackson Hawes rank first and second, respectively, in yards per route run, according to Sumer Sports. Kincaid’s average depth of target (9.25) ranks seventh.One of the Bills’ pass-catchers will need to step up if wide receiver Joshua Palmer misses time with his ankle injury. Palmer has a team-leading 129 receiving yards against man coverage this season, according to Sumer Sports, while Kincaid has five catches for 85 yards and Coleman has nine catches for 87 yards.
ESPN Analytics ranks Kincaid as the third-best receiver in the NFL this season, trailing only Puka Nacua and Stefon Diggs. Kincaid’s open score (84) is by far the highest mark by any tight end. He’s day to day with the oblique injury that kept him out of the Falcons game, said McDermott. For this offense to reach its potential, Kincaid needs to be healthy.
