Christian Benford & Maxwell Hairston LOADED with Potential—Critical Depth & Slot QUESTIONS Remain

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4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Buffalo Bills’ cornerback duo Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston stand out as one of the AFC’s most promising pairings—can their complementary skill sets elevate the secondary into elite territory? Questions linger about depth on the outside and the future of the slot, especially with Taron Johnson’s recent struggles and aging starters like Tredavious White facing uncertain contract statuses. Joe Marino evaluates the Bills’ cornerback room, spotlighting Benford’s all-around impact, Haiston's rookie growth, and the pivotal role injuries played in 2025. The conversation tackles Dorian Strong’s neck injury, Cam Lewis’s versatility, and the need for a reliable CB3. Marino addresses how Jim Leonhard’s new defensive scheme could reshape the slot position, potentially demanding a fresh approach and long-term answers. Can Buffalo’s secondary stay healthy and adapt to this new era of defense? Stay tuned for a comprehensive breakdown ahead of the 2026 season.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The bills have a couple of stud young corners, but plenty of questions about depth and in the slot.
0:06.7	We're going to explore it all today on Locked on Bills.
0:14.6	You are Locked on Bills, your daily Buffalo Bills podcast.
0:20.1	Part of the Locked on podcast Network, your team every day.
0:25.9	What's up, Bill's Mafia?
0:27.8	It's Joe Marino, author of the Heard Mentality Substack, co-host of the Lockdown NFL Scouting
0:33.2	podcast, co-host of the NFL First Read podcast and I'm your host of locked on bills
0:38.6	Locked on bills is a proud part of the locked on podcast network of the number one sports
0:43.3	podcast network want to thank you for making locked on bills your first listen every day
0:48.0	and a big welcome and shout out to our everydayers you know who you are those of you who
0:52.7	never miss a single episode.
0:56.9	I appreciate you all being here very, very much.
0:58.5	Well, folks, welcome in.
1:01.8	We're talking cornerbacks today on this episode.
1:06.7	And there's a lot to dive into, including a couple of good looking young corners that the bills have, but a lot of questions beyond, of course, Christian Benford and Maxwell
1:12.3	Harrison. So we're going to explore it all today on this episode, and then we'll have
1:17.1	safeties tomorrow, and we will have assessed all of the position groups, kind of looking
1:23.5	back at 2025 and projecting things into 2026. So let's get to it. We'll start with
1:29.4	Christian Benford, a 22 sixth round pick number 185 overall. He's 25 years old. He'll turn 26 in
1:38.6	September and he's entering year one of his four year $69 million contract that he signed last offseason.
1:46.5	In 2025, he played in 14 games, and in those 14 games on the field for 96% of the snaps
1:53.3	defensively, collected 43 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups,
	...

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