It’s no secret the Buffalo Bills will look a lot different in 2023. Perhaps no unit will undergo more change than the secondary that lost three of its longest-tenured starters in corner Tre’Davious White and safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde.
With that comes the responsibility of filling those franchise icon-sized holes in the defensive backfield. That job was made easier by extending slot corner Taron Johnson to a three-year, $31 million extension that likely alleviates some 2024 cap pressures.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane continued his due diligence on Monday, hosting a visit with former Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Blackmon would easily slide into Hyde’s role as the free safety in head coach Sean McDermott’s defense. However, his versatility may be an added bonus for Buffalo, who could play him in the box more than some anticipate.
Before this season, Blackmon had played the vast majority of his snaps as a free safety, aligned away from the line of scrimmage. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, though, has changed the way Blackmon was utilized – and was successful in doing so.
Blackmon saw career-high snap counts in the box and at slot corner in 2022 and followed that up with a more pronounced change. Blackmon spent 48.3 percent of his snaps at free safety in 2022 compared to 9.3 percent in the box. Last year, those percentages shifted to 31.2 percent and 47.4 percent respectively.
Thus, one cannot rule out that Blackmon’s role may look more like Poyer’s relegating re-signed safety Taylor Rapp back to being the third safety.
While his role nor signing his official – this is simply a visit – Blackmon would be a strong add to the Bills secondary. His ability to tackle has improved with his time closer to the line of scrimmage, even if he’s better at defending the run from upfield.
In coverage, though, he fared exceptionally well this season, ranking 19th among 66 qualified safeties by Pro Football Focus’ coverage grade. Poyer and Hyde ranked 16th and 30th, respectively.
PFF also projects Blackmon to see a two-year deal worth $5.75 million annually, fitting within Buffalo’s budgetary constraints.
It isn’t clear just how close the Bills are to acquiring Blackmon, but he’s a fit that makes sense and an ample replacement for the team’s new-look secondary.
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