After taking cornerback Davison Igbinosun in the 2nd round of the 2026 NFL Draft, GM Brandon Beane explains why the Bills made the selection and how they view the position
The Buffalo Bills added another piece to their secondary during Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft when they selected cornerback Davisun Igbinosun out of Ohio State. And while the pick may have raised some eyebrows, general manager Brandon Beane made it clear the reasoning is pretty simple.
In his view, you can’t have enough cornerbacks.
“Corner is a premium position. You can’t have enough of those guys,” Beane said following the selection on Friday.
Beane then went on to mention Tre'Daviouis White being a free agent and the uncertainty surrounding Dorian Strong after his neck injury. He said that the team has to prepare to have enough players at the spot when the games matter. Beane then pointed directly to how last season played out as a major factor in the team’s thinking.
“You saw the depth of our corners tested last year through injury,” he said. “You want to make sure as the season goes along, if injury strikes, that you've got enough guys, even if they're not starters.”
The Bills dealt with multiple injuries in the secondary last season, forcing them to rely on depth pieces in high-leverage situations. Ultimately, as everyone saw in the AFC Divisional loss to the Denver Broncos, the lack of depth came back to hurt the team.
But, with Buffalo seemingly needing help at other positions, why did Beane feel okay taking a player who, if everyone is healthy, is projected to be a backup to Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston?
"I would say that [Igbinosun] will impact our team," Beane said. "If you look at our season last year, and it's happened before, those guys are all going to play. They're going to play."
"It's a long season"
Beane added that when you have cornerbacks on the field that "are not capable", they'll quickly be targeted by opposing offenses. And just because they drafted Igbinosun, that wouldn't prevent them from picking another on Day 3.
"I can tell you this, if there's another good corner tomorrow, we'll take them," he said. "Like, think of how many guys we went through last season that played in the playoffs for us or helping us get to the playoffs. So you're going to need those guys."
For Beane, it seems the philosophy right now is simple. You don’t wait until you need corners to go find them; you make sure you already have them. Even if it's a decision that a portion of the fan base doesn't like at the time.
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