Performance of Falcons' rookie defensive player highlights Bills' latest draft whiff

Not only has Watts been on the field with regularity, but he has also excelled, recording a couple of interceptions and four passes defensed through Weeks 1 through 4. Both of those numbers lead the Falcons’ defense, while the first-year pro is also tied for second on the team in total tackles with 23. Jackson has played just 16 defensive snaps this year. He was named the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month for the month of September.

The Bills entered the offseason with a significant question mark at the safety position , with incumbent starters Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin both set to return to the team, while second-year S Cole Bishop was also in competition to earn a starting role.

As it turns out, despite continued growing pains, Bishop has been the team’s best player in the back-end this season, while Rapp has taken a significant step back in his production. And now Hamlin is on Injured Reserve for the next four games due to a pectoral injury, joining rookie defensive backs Max Hairston and Dorian Strong, along with rookie defensive tackle T.J. Sanders, on the mend.

The injuries have left Buffalo scrambling for depth , particularly at safety, as they get set to potentially turn to veteran Jordan Poyer, who may receive a practice-squad call-up this week against Atlanta. With the deficiencies at the position, discussion surrounding the team’s decision to turn elsewhere in the draft has resurfaced.

With Jackson a relative non-factor this season and the team’s first, second and sixth-round picks on IR, it’s been pretty easy for Bills fans to point to the disappointing start for Rapp as proof of why Buffalo should have elected to select a safety in the draft.

While it may have been tough on general manager Brandon Beane and company to project injuries to three of their rookies, the safety position is an area in which the Bills have struggled to find their footing since the years Poyer and former Bills S Micah Hyde were in their prime. And with the great importance the team’s safeties take on within a Sean McDermott-style defense, it seemed like a no-brainer that the team should have added a young player to the mix.

The Bills will get a close-up look at Watts on Monday night, when they head to Atlanta to take on the Falcons at 7:15 p.m.