{"id":864123,"date":"2026-04-11T17:27:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T17:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864123\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T17:27:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T17:27:21","slug":"bills-meeting-with-well-built-cornerback-points-to-buffalos-draft-vision-at-key-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864123\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills’ Meeting With Well-Built Cornerback Points to Buffalo’s Draft Vision at Key Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no question about\u00a0it,\u00a0the Buffalo Bills must add depth at cornerback<\/a> before taking the field for training camp this summer.<\/p>\n

The 2026 NFL Draft would be a good place to start, and following one of the team\u2019s predraft meetings, it seems more reasonable that the Bills will find at least one player to add to their current group before the selection process is through.<\/p>\n

Buffalo met with South Carolina State cornerback Jarod Washington<\/a> during his pro day, according to Justin Melo of\u00a0Draft OnSI, providing the team with a late-round or post-draft target to help provide additional pieces to a unit that is lacking capable options.<\/p>\n

Washington will likely either be selected on Day 3 of the draft or a team will wait to see if he lands as an undrafted free agent. Bills OnSI previously wrote about Buffalo meeting with a few other cornerbacks<\/a> before the draft, including Texas’ Malik Muhammad and LSU’s A.J. Haulcy.<\/p>\n

Join the team\"Jarod<\/p>\n

South Florida Bulls wide receiver Chas Nimrod (2) jumps over South Carolina State Bulldogs defensive back Jarod Washington (12) during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

A season ago, the Bills spent a first-round pick on Maxwell Hairston, one of the team\u2019s expected starters for the upcoming campaign. Hairston\u2019s injury-riddled rookie year ended with him on the mend, but he appears ready to seize control of the starting job at the start of the team\u2019s offseason workout program.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere at the position is fellow starter Christian Benford<\/a>, a 2022 sixth-round pick. His development is proof that a player found in Rounds 6 or 7 can eventually become a key contributor.<\/p>\n

The Bills also have 2025 sixth-rounder Dorian Strong on the roster, but after\u00a0undergoing an offseason procedure to repair a neck injury, it remains uncertain if he will be able to continue his playing career.<\/a> Otherwise, there isn\u2019t much to speak of at cornerback for Buffalo.<\/p>\n

New faces<\/p>\n

New defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to pursue attacking, havoc-creating defensive backs to fit his new defense, which should feature plenty of nickel coverage<\/a>. Washington fits that bill, as the 6-foot-2, 188-pound cornerback finished his final season at SC State with 22 passes defensed, two interceptions and an HBCU championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very competitive at the catch point,\u201d Washington told\u00a0Draft OnSI.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI\u2019m used to playing the ball in the air. I understand route concepts and how receivers want to attack the ball. I\u2019ve always played on time and on schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polarizing position<\/p>\n

Since the first-round selection of Kaiir Elam in 2022, five rounds before the team brought in a future star in Benford, the cornerback position has been widely discussed and debated amongst Bills fans. While Washington isn\u2019t a surefire fix or someone who would be a shoo-in to even make the roster in 2026, the former Bulldogs defensive back is well-built, which may provide added versatility to whichever team drafts him.<\/p>\n

One thing is for sure about Washington: he is not lacking confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the best cornerback in the 2026 NFL Draft,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting my opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He may get it with the Bills.<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram<\/a> for the latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s no question about\u00a0it,\u00a0the Buffalo Bills must add depth at cornerback before taking the field for training camp…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-864123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116387254702664295","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}