Can Cole Bishop fill big roles at safety?

THE Buffalo Bills responded to a great need for security with the selection of Cole Bishop with the No. 60 overall pick in the 2024 NFL DraftThe big question heading into training camp is whether the Utah product can replace Jordan Poyer and potentially fill the void left by Micah Hyde if he decides to retire.

With Hyde’s decision pending, the Bills have selected a player who can play on all fields. Speed, versatility and toughness sum up Bishop, who stands 6’2″, 200 pounds. Taylor Rapp he will be counted on to replace the production of Poyer and Hyde…even if Hyde returns to the Bills for another season.

The Bills are getting a player in Bishop who allowed just 14 receptions on 27 targets in his final season at Utah. Like Hyde, he’s a high-level tackler who, again, has the versatility and athleticism to fly all over the field. He’ll need to improve his run defense, but overall, the Bills are getting an interesting young player who already knows What are his expectations in Buffalo?.

“They want their safeties to do a lot of things,” Bishop said in early July. “I think my versatility is something that sets me apart, so being able to play on a team where you’re able to be versatile is huge. So I think I’m going to be able to excel as best I can.”

With any rookie, the question will be how quickly Bishop can adapt to the NFL. So far in training camp, he appears to be a quality player, but he will benefit from having a veteran like Hyde to learn from. He will be able to compete with Rapp, Damar Hamlin and Mike Edwards, but it is important to have an All-Pro like Hyde to learn how to be an impact player in the secondary and take over games at some point.

All in all, it’s a lot to ask of a young player in his first year, but the Bills rookie appears ready for the task, and he has the skills to do so. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s confidence is behind him.

“I think this guy is what people are looking for to play safety because safety has to defend somebody at some point,” Saban said. “People are running around empty, there’s four wideouts. He can do that. He can play in the box. He’s tough. He’s a good tackler, but he’s athletic enough and fast enough to play man, too.”

Those words come up again. Versatility and toughness will be Bishop’s hallmarks as he grows into his NFL role and eventually helps replace Poyer and Hyde. Can he do it? Yes, the potential is there, but the expectations for Year 1 are simply that he be solid and do what it takes to help the Bills defense recover from the beating they took this offseason.