Jalon Kilgore doesn't worry if he's practicing with the Buffalo Bills' first, second or third-team defense.
He's too busy finding the football.
The fifth-round rookie has intercepted two passes and broken up four more over the last three practices, an early training camp surge that has earned him opportunities throughout Buffalo's secondary.
It's the same ball-hawking ability he showed at South Carolina.
Kilgore broke up three passes Thursday. He intercepted two more Saturday.
New week, same result.
Kilgore added another pass breakup when the Bills returned to St. John Fisher University on Monday.
"It's good to get Kilgore reps, kind of get him going," head coach Joe Brady said. "It allows us to play three safeties and have different type of personnel
groupings and so we're fortunate with that."
Kilgore has noticed when some of those opportunities put him in a huddle with Buffalo's first-team defense.
Somewhat.
"Kind of, sort of," Kilgore said after Monday's practice. "But I just try to lock in on what my call is, what I need to do.
"Just trying to make the most of my opportunities. Whenever the coaches put me out there, whether with the twos or threes or ones, just stay ready. Know my calls. Know what to do when I'm in. Just keep making plays on the ball."
Those opportunities increased after veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a calf strain and was carted off the practice field Saturday.
Brady said Monday that Gardner-Johnson's injury isn't believed to be serious, although he wasn't ready to return to practice.
"We're fortunate," Brady said. "Anytime you see a lower-body extremity injury and in the manner in which some of those happen, there's always a bad possibility with it. But we got good news, and we'll see how his body recovers."
Gardner-Johnson's absence has opened the door for Kilgore to take additional reps. The rookie would rather have Gardner-Johnson back.
"CJ is a great guy," Kilgore said. "Would love to have him back on the defense as fast as possible. He's helping me out, getting me lined up, letting me know all the details, teaching me ball and keeping me ready. For me to come in and take advantage and get my reps in, that's what I have to do. Stay ready and keep making plays."
Gardner-Johnson isn't the only veteran helping.
Kilgore is the lone rookie in a crowded Bills safety room that also includes Cole Bishop, Geno Stone, Damar Hamlin and Sam Franklin Jr. He said Bishop and Hamlin have been two of the players he talks with most as he learns the defense.
"I treat all those boys with respect and they treat me with respect," Kilgore said. "I would say Damar and Cole are the ones I have the most conversations with to try to keep me up and know what I'm doing."
Jalon Kilgore keeps showing up at Bills camp
Jalon Kilgore is already turning heads in Buffalo, 3 PBU’s Thursday, and 2 INT’s on Friday. pic.twitter.com/iJJPCXXuwV
— Famously Garnet Sports (@FamouslyGarnet) August 2, 2026
What Kilgore is doing at training camp shouldn't be surprising.
Buffalo selected the 6-foot-1 safety in the fifth round after he intercepted eight passes and broke up 21 more during three seasons as a starter at South Carolina. Kilgore was a freshman All-American, shared the Gamecocks' Defensive MVP award last season and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds at the NFL Combine before Buffalo selected him No. 167 overall.
Kilgore had a memorable answer on draft night when asked to describe his playing style.
Violent.
"I attack the ball violent," Kilgore said then. "I tackle people violent. I get people on the ground violent. And I hustle to the ball violently."
Three months later, it's the first part of that description that's starting to show up at training camp.
"I feel like I'm doing well," Kilgore said Monday. "Got the playbook down so I'm just out here playing ball and going aggressive. That's why they brought me in, to be athletic and make plays on the ball."
Kilgore still considers himself somewhere between feeling like the new guy and being completely comfortable in an NFL locker room.
That doesn't seem to be affecting him once the ball is snapped.
And he's not spending much time trying to calculate what his early success means for his position on the depth chart.
His formula is considerably simpler.
"I feel like making plays is what gets you on the field," Kilgore said. "So as long as I keep making plays I can find my way onto the field."
He's been making plays.
And he's finding his way onto the field.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills rookie keeps finding the football and a way onto the field
