The Bills have been dealing with injuries in their secondary, particularly at the CB2 position across from Christian Benford, where slated starter Tre White and 2025 first-round NFL Draft selection Maxwell Hairston have been working their way back to the field.

In the meantime, sixth-round pick Dorian Strong stepped up to play every defensive snap in Week 1 against the Ravens.

Despite an early defensive holding penalty, Strong did not directly allow a reception while in man coverage, per Next Gen Stats.

He also made a big tackle on Derrick Henry’s 49-yard run in the second quarter to keep him from scoring.

“You don’t see a lot of corners finishing off that play, especially when it’s one-on-one with Derrick Henry,” Sean McDermott said to the media this week.

Strong was the lowest-drafted defensive player in the NFL to start in Week 1 (177th overall), but was All-ACC at Virginia Tech and showed why playing 100% of the Bills‘ defensive snaps at the boundary CB spot.

“He did not blink. He went out there, did not flinch, challenged. Certainly, there’s some things he’s got to improve on, but that was one of the highlights, is the way Dorian played. That’s credit to him and his preparation,” defensive coordinator Bobby Babich also said of Strong.

For Strong, it was his first opportunity to play in a real, regular-season NFL game, and one he expressed great gratitude for.

“Just to be a part of that, you know, and not be on your couch sitting back home watching it, you know, really just to be a part of that type of win was, I was ecstatic,” Strong said to the media. “Very happy, saying very grateful, very blessed to be a part of this team, have a quarterback like Josh Allen and an offense like ours, and be a part of a defense like ours too. So it was fun.”

He also gleaned a lot from the contest.

“I definitely did learn a lot going up against that offense,” the 23-year-old shared. “I feel like just the type of caliber players they are, you know, like at the end of the day, like if you do your job and you don’t try to make who you’re going against as big as what it is, then you’re gonna be fine. You feel me? I feel like the biggest thing is really just about like, all right, you’re about to just play against another man who obviously is really, really good. But as long as you just stick to your fundamentals and your keys, then you straight.”

With White returning to the practice field this week, it remains to be seen whether Strong will once again get the nod against the Jets or play in rotation, but McDermott did leave the door open for those possibilities.

“We’ll see,” McDermott said regarding White’s status. “We have a lot of confidence in Tre, and Dorian is a young player that did some good things the other day.”

For Strong, he’s already turned the page and is on to this week’s matchup with the Jets.

I feel like very much focused on this next game,” he continued. “I had a lot of my kudos probably like after the game and yesterday, and I kind of let it like dwindle down going into just the afternoon time to the nighttime. Because you can’t get caught up in the moment. Like you say, you got to be able to flip that switch as fast as you can.”

As that page has turned, however, the rookie can look back on a favorite play from the season opener at home in Orchard Park.

Shoot, tackling Derrick Henry,” he said. “Yeah, it’s cool. It was good. It was I feel like it was just a good fundamental tackle. We talked about the stiff arm tackle all week, you know, just to be able to like get in that position and like you say, you’ve seen a lot of guys in that position go the opposite way. So, you feel me? It feels good.”