Christian Benford

Christian Benford (born September 21, 2000) is an American professional football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Villanova.

Christian Benford

No. 47 – Buffalo Bills
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(2000-09-21) September 21, 2000 (age 24) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	Randallstown (Randallstown, Maryland)
College:	Villanova (2018–2021)
NFL draft:	2022 / round: 6 / pick: 185
Career history
Buffalo Bills (2022–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team FCS All-American (2021) CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year (2018) 2× First team All-CAA (2020, 2021) Third team All-CAA (2018)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Total tackles: 113 Forced fumbles: 2 Fumble recoveries: 1 Pass deflections: 19 Interceptions: 4 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Benford was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up Randallstown, Maryland, where he attended Randallstown High School.^[1] He was named All-Metro and All-Baltimore County as a senior and played for Maryland in the Big 33 Football Classic.^[2] Benford committed to play college football at Villanova over an offer from Morgan State.^[3]

College career

Benford played in nine games with eight starts as a true freshman and was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Rookie of the Year and third-team All-CAA after making 49 tackles with six pass breakups and five interceptions.^[4] He played in ten games with seven starts as a sophomore and broke up five passes with one interception.^[5][6] Benford was named first-team All-CAA in his junior season, which was shortened and played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.^[7] As a senior, Benford recorded 39 tackles with seven interceptions and an NCAA Division I FCS-leading 18 passes broken up and was again named first-team All-CAA.^[8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in (1.84 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	31 in (0.79 m)	9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m)	4.53 s	1.51 s	2.63 s	4.34 s	7.10 s	35.0 in (0.89 m)	10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)	17 reps
All values from Pro Day[9]

Benford was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round, 185th overall, of the 2022 NFL draft.^[10] Benford began the season as the starting cornerback for the Bills along with Dane Jackson, beating out fellow rookie and first-round pick Kaiir Elam. In his debut against the Los Angeles Rams he had 3 tackles and one pass defended.^[11] Benford fractured his hand in a week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins,^[12] missing only two games and coming back in a week six victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He was placed on injured reserve on November 26, 2022.^[13] He was activated from injured reserve on January 6, 2023.^[14]

Benford (#47) lining up against Allen Lazard (#10) of the New York Jets in 2023

Benford continued to start for the Bills in 2023, despite the return of All-Pro corner Tre'Davious White from injury, and he continued to start when White was injured again and eventually replaced by trade acquisition Rasul Douglas. In addition, Benford was healthier in his sophomore season, playing 15 games and starting 14, as opposed to just 5 starts and 9 overall games in his rookie season. In 2023, he recorded 51 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles, and only missed one tackle, enough for Pro Football Focus to give him their 8th highest score among corners that season, tied with Douglas.^[15] In the playoffs, Benford injured his knee during the Bills' 31–17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round, becoming one of several defensive starters to miss the divisional round game against the Chiefs,^[16] which Buffalo lost 27–24.^[17]

In the early portion of the 2024 season, Benford, now firmly entrenched as the Bills' starting cornerback, earned a spot on PFF's "first quarter All-Pro" team for his stellar play. In addition to his high coverage grades, he was graded the best tackler among cornerbacks in the league at that point of the season.^[18]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold	Career High

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles						Interceptions						Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	TFL	Sck	Sfty	PD	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FF	FR	Yds	Avg	TD
2022	BUF	9	5	24	17	7	1	0.0	0	5	1	35	35.0	35	0	0	0	—	—	—
2023	BUF	15	14	54	43	11	3	0.0	0	10	2	8	4.0	8	0	2	1	0	0.0	0
2024	BUF	8	8	35	28	7	1	0.0	0	4	1	6	6.0	6	0	0	0	—	—	—
Career		32	27	113	88	25	5	0.0	0	19	4	49	12.3	35	0	2	1	0	0.0	0

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Tackles						Interceptions						Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	TFL	Sck	Sfty	PD	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FF	FR	Yds	Avg	TD
2023	BUF	1	1	1	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	1	0	0	0.0	0
Career		1	1	1	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0	0

References

1. "NFL Draft Profile: Christian Benford, Cornerback, Villanova Wildcats". SI.com. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
2. Dunn, Katherine (March 1, 2018). "Team Maryland roster announced for 61st annual Big 33 Football Classic". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
3. "Defensive back Christian Benford commits to Villanova Football". VUHoops.com. SB Nation. July 18, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
4. Sharp, Corey (April 4, 2019). "Villanova spring football practice notes: Christian Benford anxious to be 'spectacular,' quarterbacks compete". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
5. Small, Tyler (September 16, 2021). "Villanova DB Christian Benford leading from the back of Wildcats' opportunistic defense". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
6. "Benford has big hand in Villanova's first spring football win". Delaware County Daily Times. March 6, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
7. Toohey, Terry (September 16, 2021). "Hard work has paid off for Villanova cornerback Christian Benford". Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
8. Toohey, Terry (December 24, 2021). "Forrest Rhyne continues to pile up honors, tops list of Villanova All-Americans". Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
9. "2022 Draft Scout Christian Benford, Villanova NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
10. Skurski, Jay (April 30, 2022). "Five things to know about Villanova cornerback Christian Benford, the second of three Bills' sixth-round picks". Buffalo News. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
11. Talbot, Ryan (September 12, 2022). "Bills' Christian Benford reveals when he found out he would be starting vs. Rams". Syracuse.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
12. Simmons, Myles (September 26, 2022). "Report: Christian Benford suffered fractured hand". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
13. @BuffaloBills (November 26, 2022). "We've signed CB Xavier Rhodes from the practice squad and placed CB Christian Benford on IR. #BillsMafia" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. Dimmitt, Zach (January 6, 2023). "Bills Officially Place Damar Hamlin on Injured Reserve". SI.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
15. "Pro Football Focus: highest graded Buffalo Bills in 2023". BuffaLowDown. January 9, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
16. "WR Davis, CB Benford among Bills players ruled out for playoff game vs Chiefs". AP News. January 19, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
17. Parrino, Matt (January 22, 2024). "Bills lose to Chiefs (again) in playoff heartbreaker as kick goes wide right (Observations)". syracuse. Retrieved March 2, 2024. Buffalo was down multiple starters on defense, including middle linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Christian Benford -- and it showed. The Chiefs couldn't be stopped, scoring on five of their first six possessions.
18. Eastham, Ronnie (October 4, 2024). "Breakout Bills CB earns spot on PFF's first-quarter All-Pro team". SI.com. Retrieved December 7, 2024.

External links

• Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo Sports
• Buffalo Bills bio
• Villanova Wildcats bio