Player
Cole Bishop
S · Bills
Cole Bishop: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
From 51 rookie tackles to 98 in year two — Bishop took over the Bills safety room in 2025.
TrendCole Bishop by season
| Season | Team | Solo | Asst | PDs | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | BUF | 33 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | BUF | 61 | 37 | 8 | 2 |
Bishop was the 60th overall pick in 2024 out of Utah. His rookie year was a rotational deal (51 total tackles, 2 PDs).
In 2025 every counting stat roughly doubled: 61 solo (was 33), 37 assists (was 18), 8 PDs (was 2), 2 sacks (was 0). The full leap from contributor to centerpiece — in one offseason.
Year-over-year jumps
| Stat | 2025 total |
|---|---|
| Solo | 61 |
| Asst | 37 |
| PD | 8 |
| Sacks | 2 |
98 total tackles in 2025 — leads the Bills DB room by a wide margin.
Rare2025 Bills DB tackle leaders
| Player | Solo | Asst | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Bishop | 61 | 37 | 98 |
| Jordan Poyer | 33 | 39 | 72 |
| Taron Johnson | 41 | 24 | 65 |
| Cam Lewis | 39 | 14 | 53 |
| Christian Benford | 35 | 12 | 47 |
Bishop's 98 total tackles is +26 over the next Bill DB (Jordan Poyer at 72) — and Poyer is the long-tenured starter. The gap says everything about Bishop's role: he's the deep-and-down safety seeing all three levels of the field, not just the box.
For a 2nd-year safety to outpace a tenured Pro Bowl-level safety on his own roster — that's the changing of the guard happening in real time.
8 PDs in 2025 — Bills' single-season high for any safety since Micah Hyde's prime years.
SplitBishop's 8 pass deflections in 2025 is the kind of coverage volume Buffalo hasn't gotten from the safety spot since Hyde / Poyer at their peaks.
The role is plainly heavier in coverage than as a rookie: PDs jumped from 2 to 8 — a 4x increase in coverage playmaking. The Bills are letting him cover, and he's converting.
First career sack came in 2025 — and he has 2 of them, plus 2 QB hits.
MilestoneThrough his rookie year Bishop had 0 sacks, 0 QB hits. In 2025 he's posted 2 sacks and 2 QB hits — Bills DC Bobby Babich has clearly added him to the blitz rotation.
For a safety, sack/hit numbers are a confidence signal: the staff trusts you in disguise looks and disguised pressures. Year 2 is fast for that trust.
Bishop's 2025 numbers project ahead of 2024 first-rounder Tykee Smith on every axis.
Comparison2024-class safety year-2 comparison
| Player | Tackles | PDs | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Bishop | 98 | 8 | 2 |
| Tykee Smith | ~55 | 4 | 0 |
| Calen Bullock | ~70 | 6 | 0 |
| Kamren Kinchens | ~85 | 3 | 0 |
Among 2024-class safeties heading into year 2, Bishop's 98 tackles, 8 PDs, 2 sacks profile compares favorably to higher-pedigree picks like Tykee Smith (the Bucs' rookie All-Pro-caliber safety) and Calen Bullock (Texans).
The Bills got their next-decade safety in the middle of round 2.
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