BUF Buffalo Bills · DB· #47

Christian Benford

Age
26
Height
6'1"
Weight
205 lbs
College
Villanova
Drafted
2022, No. 185 overall (BUF)
Experience
5th NFL season

48

Overall grade

62nd of 96 cornerbacks

Below typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Christian grades about average among cornerbacks so far, with no number far from the middle.

Role is shrinking: When he plays he is on the field for about 8 of every 10 plays lately, down from nearly every play before.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 3 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the cornerbacks in the league.

  • Passes defended per target15%36th of 96small sample
  • Completion rate allowed60%45th of 96small sample
  • Yards allowed per target7.353rd of 96small sample
  • Missed tackles11%60th of 90small sample
  • Passer rating allowed11182nd of 96

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying cornerbacks. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among cornerbacks after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 1: 41st percentileWeek 2: 58th percentileWeek 3: 42nd percentile42nd

Season rank holding near the 42nd percentile since Wk 1.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

Yards allowed per target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs HOU6.81141st pct
2vs DET7.2658th pct
3vs LAC9.7342nd pct

Lower is better for this stat. One game is a small sample: a single stat over 7 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every cornerback with at least 10 targets. Right on the strip is better.

Yards allowed per target

Typical

7.3lower is better

53rd of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 46%

The yards the receiver he is covering gets each time he is targeted. Fewer is better.

The box score: Interceptions are rare and say little about the hundred plays where he is just covering.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on yards allowed per target, and 55% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 9.7 (3) vs 6.9 before

Small sample: could move a lot · 20 targets · true level likely 3.9 to 10.8

Passer rating allowed

Well below typical

111lower is better

82nd of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 16%

The passer rating of quarterbacks throwing at him. 158.3 is perfect for the passer, so lower is better for the defender.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on passer rating allowed, and 53% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 98 (3) vs 114 before

Sample still growing · 20 targets · true level likely 91 to 131

Completion rate allowed

Typical

60%lower is better

45th of 96 cornerbacks · top 47%

The share of passes thrown at him that are completed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on completion rate allowed from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (64% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 67% (3) vs 59% before

Small sample: could move a lot · 20 targets · true level likely 42% to 78%

Passes defended per target

Above typical

15%

36th of 96 cornerbacks · top 38%

How often a pass thrown at him ends with him breaking it up. A cornerback does this far more often than he intercepts.

The box score: Passes defended are counted, but never against how often he was tested.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on passes defended per target from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (60% wins in the best third, 68% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 33% (3) vs 12% before

Small sample: could move a lot · 20 targets · true level likely 1% to 29%

Missed tackles

Below typical

11%lower is better

60th of 90 cornerbacks · bottom 35%

The share of his tackle chances he missed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Tackle totals reward the player who gets the most chances, not the one who finishes them.

Does it show up in winning? Across 168 games league-wide, teams won 55% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on missed tackles, and 43% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 25% (4) vs 7% before

Small sample: could move a lot · 18 tackle chances · true level likely -3% to 25%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the cornerbacks around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Depth of passes at him

Style

12.8 yds

Is tested deep, more than most cornerbacks. A typical one is 10.6 yds.

How far downfield the passes thrown at him travel on average. It shows whether he is tested deep or underneath, which is a role, not a grade.

Sample still growing · 20 targets

Playing time

He has played in 3 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 91% of the team's defensive plays when he plays.

Role is shrinking. When he plays he is on the field for about 8 of every 10 plays lately, down from nearly every play before.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's defensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Christian Benford game by game
GameResultSnapsTklSoloAstTFLSacksPressPBUIntMissedYds/targetRating againstComp % againstPBU/target
Wk 1 vs HOUW 36–31100%5320000016.811464%0%
Wk 2 vs DETW 41–3198%8530002007.211350%33%
Wk 3 vs LACW 24–1675%3210001019.79867%33%

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among cornerbacks. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Christian Benford box score totals
StatTotalRank
Tackles1646th of 96
Solo tackles1059th of 96
Assisted tackles629th of 96
Tackles for loss051st of 96
Sacks011th of 96
Pressures025th of 96
Passes defended334th of 96
Interceptions027th of 96
Missed tackles220th of 96

Players with a similar profile

The cornerbacks whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.