Buffalo Bills fans spent the start of the bye week watching their secondary get thinner without a snap being played. That makes one name from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler worth a closer look. Asked for a sleeper trade-deadline candidate in ESPN’s Week 7 buzz column, Fowler picked Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor, and the fit with a Bills defense that left the secondary exposed in Las Vegas is hard to miss.
Fowler didn’t tie Taylor to Buffalo. His case was about the player, noting Taylor is 27 with good football left and that a trade could bring out his best. The Titans made him a healthy scratch in Week 6, and Titans Wire noted he has struggled to adapt to an outside cornerback role after excelling as a nickel with the New Orleans Saints.
Where Buffalo’s coverage is leaking
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The suspensions came first. The NFL suspended safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson one game for spitting toward Raiders players, and barring an appeal he’ll miss the Nov. 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Defensive back and special teams captain Sam Franklin Jr. drew his own one-game suspension from the same game and is appealing his suspension.
The tape from the 33-30 win at Allegiant Stadium doesn’t help. According to PFF, linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr allowed four catches on four targets with a 30.0 coverage grade, Davison Igbinosun posted a 45.9 coverage grade and Gardner-Johnson graded 49.4 in coverage before his ejection. Christian Benford held up, allowing three catches on eight targets, but Maxwell Hairston’s struggles have already raised the question of whether the Bills should sign Marshon Lattimore. Buffalo also didn’t record a sack on 12 pressures against Las Vegas.
Buffalo’s first move was a familiar one, bringing back Tre’Davious White on the practice squad. That’s a depth patch for a team that has allowed fourth-quarter touchdowns at a worrying rate all season.
Taylor wouldn’t be a clean fix, and the Titans would have to want out of the deal they signed him to in the offseason. Still, his best work came inside, and Fowler’s read on a change of scenery lines up with what Orchard Park needs before the Nov. 10 deadline. A 5-1 team with a Super Bowl-ready offense can’t keep asking Josh Allen to outscore every coverage breakdown.
More on the Buffalo Bills
- NFL Legend Tom Brady Makes Clear Choice Between Patriots, Bills
- Bills Are Allowing Fourth-Quarter Touchdowns at a Historic Rate. Can They Stop It?
- Bills Captain Sam Franklin Jr. Is Appealing His Suspension After Joining C.J. Gardner-Johnson
- NFL Announces Second Punishment Decision for Spitting Incident at Bills-Raiders
