The Buffalo Bills have a new defensive coordinator this season, and with that comes a new philosophy on defense. Regardless of one’s opinion on former head coach and defensive boss Sean McDermott, one clear point of success throughout his tenure came in the development of defensive backs. Whether those defensive backs were veteran cast-offs from elsewhere (Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde) or players the team drafted themselves (Cole Bishop and Christian Benford, among others), there were far more hits
than misses in terms of player development.
The players noted above were clear success stories, and while there was the Kaiir Elam debacle, there were also more than a few instances of late-round players not only making the Bills’ roster, but developing into valuable part-time contributors on defense. Some of those players may not have executed in all the big moments—I’m looking at you, Dane Jackson—but they surpassed the standard expectations for players who entered the NFL in their respective pathways.
In today’s installment of our “91 players in 91 days” series, we profile a player whose career transcends the playing field.
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Name: Damar Hamlin
Number: 3
Position: S
Height/Weight: 6’, 200 pounds
Age: 28 (29 on 3/24/2027)
Experience/Draft: 6; drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round (No. 212 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft
College: Pitt
Acquired: Sixth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hamlin signed a one-year contract worth $1.215 million. Thanks to the veteran’s minimum exemption, Hamlin’s cap number is less than that for the season, as it will be $1.125 million if he makes the team. If he doesn’t, Buffalo will carry a dead cap number of $25,000 for the season, which is the total amount of the signing bonus on the deal.
2025 Recap: Hamlin was relegated to special teams duty last season, playing just 12 defensive snaps in his five games on the active roster. He appeared on 49 special teams snaps over that time, which accounted for 35% of the team’s total through those first five games. All twelve of the snaps he played on defense came in Buffalo’s Week Two blowout victory over the New York Jets. Hamlin tore a pectoral muscle during practice leading up to the team’s Week Six contest with the Atlanta Falcons; he was placed on injured reserve, had surgery, and missed the rest of the season. Hamlin was ramping up to return to play, though, when the Bills were eliminated from contention in the Divisional Round against the Denver Broncos; Buffalo had opened his 21-day practice window leading up to that game. He totaled just one tackle during the 2025 season.
Positional outlook: Hamlin is one of six players listed at safety on the current roster. Wande Owens, Geno Stone, Cole Bishop, Jalen Kilgore, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are the others. Sam Franklin Jr. and Jordan Hancock are listed at defensive back, but they are safeties, as well.
2026 Offseason: Hamlin has participated in OTAs to date.
2026 Season outlook: It’s hard to discuss Hamlin objectively given all he’s been through, but I’m going to try as best I can. Hamlin’s story would have been a success even if the harrowing ordeal of January 2, 2023 didn’t occur. He was already a sixth-round draft pick living the dream, contributing in a meaningful way to a good Buffalo defense. But, his cardiac arrest and subsequent recovery did happen, and they add another layer to the success that his career has been.
The Bills are the only professional team that he’s known, and while he is a valuable special teams player and a capable reserve, he isn’t someone who should be starting games on the current Buffalo roster. He lacks the speed to play centerfield in a single-high defense, and that same lack of speed requires him to be perfect in every angle he takes while playing in the box, as one wrong move often leads to huge gains for opposing teams. Now, perhaps that same issue in run support won’t happen in a different defense, but his lack of true success in coverage still limits what the team can do with Hamlin on the field.
Buffalo could absolutely keep No. 3 this season in a similar role as the one it appeared he would have had last year: as a special teams player. C.J. Gardner-Johnson should be a starter alongside Cole Bishop this season, and rookie Jalen Kilgore has the physical chops to make an impact sooner rather than later. If Jordan Hancock remains a safety in new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s defense rather than shifting inside to nickel corner, that’s the top four safeties on the squad. Veteran Sam Franklin is the special teams priority, so he likely makes it as a fifth safety. To me, that leaves Hamlin on the outside looking in, as I’d place him behind Geno Stone in terms of overall ability, as well, and I’m not even sure that he will make the 53-man roster.
Maybe you think that’s unfair — after all, Stone played on a terrible Cincinnati Bengals defense last season, and he had arguably the worst year of his career to boot. According to Pro Football Focus, Stone allowed a 106.6 quarterback rating, four touchdowns, and a 65.3% completion rate last season. He had two interceptions on 49 targets where he was the closest defender. That’s… not good. For Hamlin’s career, however, he’s been the closest defender on 78 targets. He’s allowed a quarterback rating of 115.1 with five touchdowns, two interceptions, and a completion percentage of 67.9%. That is… also not good.
People have counted Hamlin out for his whole career, and he’s made a habit of proving those doubters wrong. I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if he proves me wrong later on this summer. However, if the Bills remain relatively healthy at the safety position heading into final cuts, I don’t foresee a scenario where Hamlin is among the five best players at safety on the current roster.
