Every team in the NFL enters training camp with highlighted position battles that will be watched.
The Buffalo Bills are no different. Those fights can bring out the best in players and that’s what the Bills hope happens at cornerback ahead of the 2026 season.
Christian Benford returns to the top of the corner depth chart in Buffalo. At the other outside spot, it will be a battle between Maxwell Hairston and rookie Davison Igbinosun.
Hairston was Buffalo’s first-round pick at the 2025 NFL Draft. Igbinosun was selected with on of the Bills’ top selections at this offseason’s draft in Round 2.
ESPN’s NFL insiders put together a list of the top 10 position battles to watch this summer. The one at cornerback in Buffalo cracked the unranked list.
Here’s the ESPN breakdown on Hairston vs. Igbinosun:
I did not have “early drafted cornerback” on my bingo card for the Bills, as I thought there was still enough hope for Hairston — a first-round pick just one season ago — that his starting spot would go unchallenged. But Buffalo took Igbinosun in the second round as insurance against Hairston’s injury history and as a challenger for his reps opposite Christian Benford.
Hairston never made much sense to me as a fit for Sean McDermott’s defense and works better with new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. So, Hairston certainly has the inside track for this job if he can stay healthy and quickly learn the new defense.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills offseason position battle named among top in NFL ahead of 2026
Reporting by Nick Wojton, USA TODAY / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
