The Buffalo Bills shuffled the deck in their defensive backfield a bit last week, releasing a player I was high on entering this offseason in Wande Owens. Moves on the fringes don’t often draw big headlines, but in the summertime, it’s often those moves that coaches sweat the most. How can they find players who fit their system that, perhaps, other teams have overlooked?
In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a cornerback who views himself as more of a Swiss Army knife than
a mere corner. _____________________________________________________________________________
Name: D.J. Miller
Number: 46
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 5’10” 193 lbs.
Age: 25 (26 on 8/11/2026)
Experience/Draft: 1; signed with the Kansas City Chiefs following the 2024 NFL Draft
College: Kent State
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 7/31/2026
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Miller’s one-year contract is worth $885,000 overall. That number also represents his cap hit if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo will not carry any dead cap charge if they release him.
2025 Recap: Miller spent the 2025 season in two places, starting out in the UFL with the Michigan Panthers before spending training camp with the NFL’s Detroit Lions. While with Michigan, he totaled 29 tackles, two interceptions, and eight pass breakups. Michigan made the UFL Playoffs, and in two postseason games, Miller totaled nine tackles and three pass breakups as the Panthers lost the UFL Championship Game to the DC Defenders. In the preseason with the Lions, Miller was around the ball often, just as he had been while playing in the UFL. In two NFL exhibition games, Miller had 10 tackles, one tackle for loss, and two pass breakups. He did not make Detroit’s roster, and he was not signed to any team’s practice squad following final cuts in August.
Positional outlook: Miller is one of six players listed at cornerback on Buffalo’s current roster. Toriano Pride Jr., Dee Alford, Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston, and Davison Igbinosun are the others. Te’Cory Couch, Kani Walker, Jordan Hancock, and Jordan Dunbar are all listed at defensive back but play corner.
2026 Offseason: Miller returned to the UFL in the spring, playing for the Colombus Aviators. He once again played well, totaling three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, nine pass breakups, and 24 tackles (one tackle for loss) in the spring league.
2026 Season outlook: Miller has a long road to making the roster, but he does a lot of things that coaches love. He can play multiple spots in the secondary, something highlighted in the team’s bio that they posted when they signed him. He has a great work ethic—something that was also highlighted in his bio—and he has produced at multiple stops throughout his time playing football. He views himself as a defensive back, not a particular positional player, and that desire to be a good football player at any spot in the defensive secondary could significantly benefit him this summer.
Miller is only 5’10”, but his wingspan is 74”. He ran a 4.56-second forty-yard dash at Kent State’s pro day back in 2024, a solid but unspectacular time, but he also completed the three-cone drill in an excellent 6.65 seconds. His vertical was measured at 38.5”, as well. All of these numbers indicate that Miller is a player who, athletically at least, could help Buffalo as it transitions to a more attack-oriented defense. Can he showcase enough ability to unseat someone else who likely is in front of him at the moment?
That last question is the big one, and I’m not sure that Miller is going to be able to do it. With Benford, Hairston, Igbinosun, and Alford all written in Sharpie on the 53-man roster, that doesn’t leave much space for other corners. Miller’s versatility helps, but he’d have to be better than Hancock, who projects as a reserve and special teams player already, as well as someone like Pride Jr. or veteran safeties like Damar Hamlin or Geno Stone.
D.J. Miller has an outside chance at making the 53-man roster, but ultimately, I think he’s auditioning for a spot on the practice squad over these next few weeks.
