When the Buffalo Bills selected Tre’Davious White as their first- round pick, most of the EPSN sports analysts were praising Buffalo’s choice. The LSU star was pegged as steady, consistent, and ready to play. According to Buffalo Rumblings, during Buffalo’s mini-camp this past week, White made exceptional plays and is showing that he has what it takes to be a starting cornerback in the NFL. He even picked off Bills’ wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Can White be better than former Buffalo cornerback Stephon Gilmore?
Stephon Gilmore versus Tre’Davious White
In his 5 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Stephon Gilmore showed flashes of brilliance. With 226 tackles and 14 interceptions, the cornerback put up some good numbers. However, Gilmore also gave up some big plays at times and was criticized by fans and sports experts for sloppy tackling. While Tre’Davious White has yet to start an NFL game, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott stated in a press conference this past week that White is looking like a guy who has already played a couple of seasons in the league.
He can play special teams and was solid on punt returns at LSU. White racked up over 700 yards in punt returns with one touchdown per season. Gilmore was not a special teams guy, but his speed was good at 4.4 seconds for the 40- yard dash.
White is not quite as fast, with a 4.47 for the 40- yard dash. White was known at LSU for being better at press coverage than Gilmore.
Meet the press
One thing that White has been praised for is his ability to play well in press coverage in man-to-man situations. This is where Buffalo had a hard time last year. They gave up big plays that beat them in close games.
While the passing yards allowed for Buffalo’s defense put up a better performance last year with 239 yards per game, the big yardage plays nullified that statistic in some games. If White can negate the huge plays, he and fellow cornerback Ronald Darby may be the dynamic duo that the franchise has been looking for in recent years.
The Bills' defense needs a jolt to get back into the top ten defenses.
Help from Micah Hyde
Buffalo picked up another solid player in the Micah Hyde, who will be starting at the safety position for the Bills. Hyde replaced Aaron Williams, whose neck injuries forced the Bills to release him. Hyde is a versatile player who can be a solid complement to White. Hyde has also played the cornerback position well.
Tre’Davious White seems to have a bright future ahead with the Buffalo Bills.
