The Buffalo Bills boast a talented secondary, including a rising superstar cornerback entering his second season, a first-time Pro Bowl player at safety, and a newly-acquired former first-round draft pick. With the starting players all but given, the depth players become the focus.
In the latest edition of our “90 players in 90 days” series, we discuss a rookie looking to make an NFL roster after going undrafted this past April.
Name: Levi Wallace
Number: 47
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 6’” 179 lbs.
Age: 23
Experience: R
College: Alabama
Draft: Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills following the 2018 NFL Draft
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Wallace signed a standard deal for undrafted free agents, agreeing to terms on a three-year pact that totals $1,710,000. His cap hit for 2018 if he makes the final roster will be $480,000.
2017 Recap: Wallace had a nice senior year for the national champion Crimson Tide. He played in all 14 games, accumulating 48 total tackles in the process. He added 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, and a defensive touchdown on the season.
Positional outlook: The defensive secondary has the potential to be the deepest positional group on the team—despite what Pro Football Focus said about the corners behind Tre’Davious White. With White, Vontae Davis, and Phillip Gaines set to occupy the top three spots on the depth chart, Wallace will compete with fellow rookies Taron Johnson and Ryan Carter, as well as 2017 holdovers Breon Borders and Lafayette Pitts for a roster spot. The team will probably keep five corners on the final roster, since they have three safeties (Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, and Siran Neal) who all have experience at cornerback, as well.
2018 Offseason: Wallace has attended all offseason workouts and minicamps. PFF named him one of the top-ten undrafted free agents in terms of likelihood to make an impact in 2018.
2018 season outlook: Wallace has an uphill climb to make the roster, but he is used to such climbs. As a walk-on at Alabama, he went from a scout-team player to a starter on a National Championship team in three years. If you’re looking for a fantastic underdog to root for, this is the guy—check out this story from late June that ran on buffalobills.com—and he seems to be a phenomenal kid. His main competition for a roster spot should come from Borders and Pitts, but if he can show the kind of coverage skills that he did at Alabama last year, he has a great shot at making the final roster. I know I’ll be rooting him to do it.