The Buffalo Bills are heading into a season with a new defensive system for the first time in a long time. Not since the transition from Rex Ryan’s defense to Sean McDermott’s have we had to think about what a new system would look like.
While we won’t know for sure what defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has in store for us until Week One against the Houston Texans, we will start to see some hints in training camp once practice begins in earnest. For now, we can wonder whether players from McDermott’s tenure fit into Leonhard’s vision for the club—and if they do fit, we can wonder about exactly how and where they will be.
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In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a player whose versatility could be his biggest asset moving forward.
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Name: Jordan Hancock
Number: 37
Position: DB
Height/Weight: 6’ 195 lbs.
Age: 22 (23 on 8/12/2026)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the fifth round (No. 170 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft
College: Ohio State
Acquired: Fifth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hancock enters the second year of his rookie contract, a four-year pact worth $4,520,216 overall. For the 2026 season, Hancock’s cap hit is $1,085,054 if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo will carry a dead cap charge of $240,162 if he’s released.
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2025 Recap: Hancock made the roster as a reserve safety, but he spent most of the wearly days of his career as a healthy scratch. He was active on special teams for his first game, a 31-19 Week Four win over the New Orleans Saints, and notched his first career tackle. He was active again two weeks later when the Bills lost at the Atlanta Falcons, making another special teams tackle. Coming out of the bye, he made his debut on defense, playing 16 snaps in a 40-14 drubbing of the Carolina Panthers. Hancock was active for all of Buffalo’s remaining games, playing mostly on special teams. He surpassed 50% of the Bills’ defensive snaps just twice, and the scenarios in which he did so could not have been more different. In Week Eighteen, he played over 80% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps in a meaningless 35-8 victory over the New York Jets. In Buffalo’s Wild Card victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hancock subbed in at safety when Jordan Poyer went down with an injury, and it could not have gone worse. Hancock was a frequent target of Trevor Lawrence, and he allowed a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating when he was the closest player in coverage. He allowed five completions for 111 yards and a touchdown on six targets; for contest, Lawrence completed 18 passes for 207 yards in the whole game. It was a disastrous effort for Hancock, who then played zero defensive snaps the following week. It was Darnell Savage Jr. subbing for a temporarily injured Cam Lewis late in the first half, and he didn’t do much better than Hancock, as he allowed Lil’Jordan Humphrey to secure a touchdown pass that somehow was only the second or third most disastrous thing to happen in the first half of Buffalo’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Overall, Hancock totaled 22 tackles in the regular season and six in the playoffs. He was a core special teams player for the club, ranking eighth in total special teams snaps despite playing in only 13 games.
Positional outlook: Hancock is one of four players listed as a defensive back on the roster. Kani Walker, Jordan Dunbar, and Sam Franklin are the others. The question Hancock will need to answer is, “What position am I playing in this defense?” If he’s a safety, then he’ll be competing with C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cole Bishop, Jalen Kilgore, Wande Owens, Damar Hamlin, and Geno Stone for snaps. If he’s playing slot corner, it’s Dee Alford, Toriano Pride Jr., and maybe Te’Cory Couch.
2026 Offseason: Hancock is healthy and he has participated in offseason work to date. He wore a red noncontact jersey due to offseason shoulder surgery, but he’s expected to be ready for training camp.
2026 Season outlook: Hancock is an interesting case, as he definitely has the versatility and traits to be a valuable contributor on defense. However, his greatest value right now is on special teams. I don’t think he’s truly positionless, as he can definitely help at both safety and slot corner, but I also don’t think he’s good enough to challenge for much more than backup and garbage-time snaps at this point in his career at either position. Last year, many of us—myself included—were clamoring for Hancock to see the field more. When he did against the Jaguars, we saw why he wasn’t out there more often.
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I view Hancock as more of a Cam Lewis replacement this season than a true contributor on defense. Lewis was a fantastic special teams player and a versatile reserve. He signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Chicago Bears this offseason, so Buffalo will have to replace his 219 special teams snaps and his 373 defensive snaps. Dee Alford is in line to take over for Taron Johnson in the slot, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson will likely start next to Cole Bishop, but the first person on the field to replace either spot is wide open. That’s the role Lewis would have played last season, and that’s a role that Hancock has a chance to win this summer.
Perhaps a change in system combined with a year of NFL experience will help Hancock to succeed this year. He doesn’t have to be a full-time starter, but it would be helpful if he could show himself capable of handling a reserve role. If he can’t do that, then perhaps it will be Sam Franklin, not Cam Lewis, who ends up the goal for Hancock in his career. In any case, I view Hancock as being on the roster this year, though a poor summer could end with him being a surprise cut in August.
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