Buffalo Bills’ Steve Johnson Praises Rookie Corner Stephon Gilmore
The Buffalo Bills needed to find a playmaking cornerback with Drayton Florence being waived and current starter, Terrence McGee, still being plagued with injuries. They may have found one in their first round pick from this past year, South Carolina’s Stephon Gilmore, as the rookie has looked like a veteran this month in camp in Pittsford, New York.
Earlier this week, Don Banks from Sports Illustrated.com caught up with Buffalo’s superstar receiver, Steve Johnson, who raved about the Bills’ new cornerback. Johnson stated, ”Everything I see in [Darrelle] Revis, I see in Gilmore…”
Johnson then went on to say about the 21-year old rookie, “He’s going to be a shutdown corner. You definitely can tell.”
New York Jets Pro Bowl cornerback, Revis, is hands down the best shutdown corner in football, so the comparisons to Gilmore are very promising for the youngster. After all if anyone would be able to make this comparison, it has to be Johnson, who averaged a league-leading 79.5 yards per game against Revis last season.
Gilmore has been studying his playbook relentlessly since May. He has lived in the film room and has welcomed any competition on the field. Gilmore is making a strong case to be in the starting lineup in camp, and he may just be handed the job with all the uncertainty surrounding the position.
McGee has missed 17 games in the last two years and other starting option, Aaron Williams, has missed significant time over the same span, so a strong camp for Gilmore has become essential for the team’s depth at the position. Buffalo has put a lot of money into their new-look defense, so if Gilmore is added to the starting lineup, than they will expect him to produce from week one.
However, the thing that has impressed coaches, and Johnson, most about Gilmore in camp has been his ability to be consistent on the field. He makes all the easy tackles, makes the obvious reads, and never gets caught out of position. Gilmore is the new face of the Bills’ future secondary and it is promising to see the team’s best wideout reiterate that fact to the media.
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