When Cole Bishop looks at how he鈥檚 feeling now compared to a year ago, the second-year safety gets a little repetitive.
鈥淚 know I keep saying the same word, but just comfortable, comfortability,鈥 Bishop said Tuesday at the Buffalo Bills鈥 first day of organized team activities.
A second-round rookie in 2024, Bishop is making a jump in Year 2 of his NFL career. The Bills defense needs him to. With that comes the same word: comfortable, comfortable, comfortable.
鈥淢an, obviously I have my own technical things (to work on) and everything, but just trying to play faster, play more free,鈥 Bishop said. 鈥淚 mean, compared to this time last year, I feel a lot more comfortable, obviously. So, just trying to embrace that.鈥
Bishop dealt with a shoulder injury during training camp that caused him to miss time at a critical learning juncture. The Bills, having turned the page from veteran stalwarts Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, entered camp with question marks at both spots and plenty of candidates to fill them 鈥 including Bishop (even as a rookie from Utah), veterans Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin, Cam Lewis, Mike Edwards and Kareem Jackson.
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Rapp solidified his role in one spot during the preseason, but injuries to Bishop and others left the other position in question, even as the regular-season opener approached. Ultimately, Hamlin started 14 of 17 games and finished with 89 tackles and two interceptions. But the Bills could benefit from more impact play at both safety spots, and they will keep evaluating Bishop for a starting role.
It鈥檚 far too early for coach Sean McDermott to publicly declare starters, as he and the coaching staff want to stay flexible in the spring and summer. But Bishop now clearly has an opportunity to be a full-time defensive starter this season.
鈥淭he depth chart is loose this time of year,鈥 McDermott said Tuesday. 鈥淲e roll people in there. 鈥 And we鈥檙e just looking to, as a coaching staff, get the best feel for our players that we can and what they can do, what they can鈥檛 do, how we can help them and develop them.鈥
Bishop鈥檚 shoulder injury impacted his rookie season. He started four of the 16 games he appeared in last season, totaling 358 defensive snaps (34%) over that span. He played 52% of special teams snaps, getting in more work on that phase. He made four regular-season starts at safety, but his greatest impact came in what ended up being the Bills鈥 season finale 鈥 the AFC championship game at Kansas City, when he had a season-high 10 tackles in the 32-29 loss.
McDermott said he has seen Bishop make strides.
鈥淵ou want a player, a young player, to understand the system to the point where he can play fast and you can see his true skill set,鈥 McDermott said Tuesday. 鈥淚 think Cole is already through the football school, the Phase Two days.
鈥淗e鈥檚 shown that he鈥檚 getting more and more comfortable with this system and then finding ways that he can work his magic within this system, meaning where he can cheat. And you learn that the more you know the system. How can you make the system work for you?鈥
It鈥檚 early, but at Tuesday鈥檚 OTA, Bishop looked confident and ready to make plays. Teammates said they have seen an improvement in Bishop as well.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just 鈥 getting more comfortable, and then just going out there being himself 鈥 you know, playing his style of football, which is flying around, being smart and just trying to make plays,鈥 defensive back Cam Lewis said of Bishop. 鈥淪o, he鈥檚 going to continue to learn, but he鈥檚 been doing a really good job so far.鈥
Lewis pointed to the pressure a high draft pick like Bishop could feel as he acclimated in his first season. A rookie may try to get everything perfect, even before he鈥檚 confident in the playbook. Older players might get more leeway with mistakes, Lewis said.
But Bishop had a solid offseason, spending much of his time in Buffalo. That has given him more time to gel with Rapp.
鈥淚 came back pretty early,鈥 Bishop said. 鈥淚 was back home for a little bit, but came back pretty early for training. So me and (Rapp) have been up here for a while now. So we鈥檝e been working together a good bit.鈥
The group of defensive backs has gotten close over the seasons from DB dinners and other off-the-field hangouts. Bishop has continued that with Rapp as they work more and more together.
Even as competition brews, Bishop sees himself getting along just fine with the rest of the safety room as the group helps each other navigate OTAs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird thing, because you almost want to not like the person you鈥檙e competing with,鈥 Bishop said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e got such a great group of dudes that, like, it鈥檚 impossible, so you end up becoming close with them. So then you guys end up just helping each other get better.鈥
