Buffalo Bills' Former Fifth-Round Pick Has Gone From Heir Apparent to Cut Candidate

After beginning the season seemingly in a great position to secure a contributing role in his second professional season, 2025 fifth-round defensive back Jordan Hancock is now on the outside looking in.

The Bills added several players at both cornerback and safety this offseason, many of whom are set to leapfrog Hancock in the pecking order before the 2026 season kicks off. That could spell bad news for the 22-year-old, who may be left off the roster if things don’t shake his way during the remainder of the team’s workout program and training camp. 

After the draft, during which Buffalo selected another versatile DB, Jalon Kilgore, in the fifth round, general manager/president of football operations Brandon Beane admitted the team is unsure where Hancock will line up defensively in 2026.

“Yeah, I mean, we like versatility," he said. "What’s position one? I wouldn’t want to say that yet, till we kind of get out there in the spring. That’s probably something that would declare itself, you know, more at camp, but I still think we’ll try and make him as versatile as possible, because you never know on game day if you’re not the starter, we want you to kind of know multiple spots.”

Hancock is part of a large group of players vying for a limited number of roster spots. And while his versatility was lauded as a plus by Beane, being without a defined role entering his second NFL season may not bode well for Hancock.

Roster projection

Last year, the Bills carried six cornerbacks and four safeties into the start of the regular season, with Hancock named a safety. Those numbers could change this year under new head coach Joe Brady. And with Hancock, Kilgore and several others in tow, the Bills will undoubtedly have to make some tough decisions in a few months.

Along with those two aforementioned names, the Bills signed free agents C.J. Gardner Johnson, Geno Stone and one of their own, Damar Hamlin to round out the position before the draft. Now with five players for what could be four spots, Hancock may be the odd-man out at safety.

Beyond safety

If that's the case, there is a chance you could see Hancock field another position, beyond safety, as Beane alluded to. Hancock also has experience at nickel cornerback, where he played 57% of his defensive snaps during his final season at Ohio State in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.

Dee Alford was signed as a free agent to take over as the team's new starter at the position after Taron Johnson was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. However, while the Bills seemed to be training him to serve in the back end of the team’s defense under former head coach Sean McDermott, Buffalo could have a different role in mind for Hancock, with first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard taking the reins of his new, chaos-inducing unit.

Things could swing one way or another for Hancock, who must stand out over the next few months if he hopes to have any chance of sticking around with the Bills. Buffalo has moved on from a couple of recent former fifth-rounders within their first two years of being drafted, including linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio [2024] and wide receiver Justin Shorter [2023].

There was a brief moment in time after he was drafted when Hanock was thought of as the next big thing in Buffalo’s secondary—the heir apparent to either Johnson or Jordan Poyer. Now, if he can’t perform during the remainder of OTAs and training camp, he will be added to the list of the Bills’ failed fifth-round selections under Beane’s watch.

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