30 most important Bills players of 2025: No. 21 Cole Bishop

USA Today

5 days ago

As the Buffalo Bills prepare for the 2025 NFL season, we'll take a look at the most important contributors on their roster. They have a ton of cornerstone players who will be returning for another shot at bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo, and they'll have help from some new additions as well.
Leading up to the season, we will be counting down the top 30 most important players on the roster. We'll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to what they'll offer in 2025, and tackle the most pressing questions surrounding them this coming year.
Next up on the countdown is Cole Bishop.
Background
Position: Safety
Age at start of season: 22
Experience: Second year
2025 cap hit: $1,488,181
2024 recap
Cole Bishop didn't have the start to his NFL career that he anticipated after being a second-round pick in 2024. He injured his shoulder early in last year's training camp and fell behind in terms of preparing for the season. Due to the setback, Damar Hamlin ran away with the starting safety spot alongside Taylor Rapp. Bishop ended up starting five games throughout the course of the year. He put some rookie mistakes on tape early on but he played well down the stretch. In the AFC title game, while filling in for an injured Rapp, Bishop led the team with 10 tackles.
2025 outlook
Bishop is hoping to contribute as a full-time starter at safety in 2025. He and Rapp have been putting work in together since early in the offseason. Bishop was quoted as saying that he's feeling a lot more comfortable this offseason compared to last, and he'll enter training camp and preseason with hopes of proving he belongs as a starter in Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich's defense. Bishop and Rapp both offer a hybrid skillet which will help the coaching staff get creative in offering different looks to confuse opposing QBs.
Biggest question: How will he fare as a full-time starter?
Bishop only saw a handful of spot-starts in 2024 after drawing high praises from the coaches after being picked early in the draft. He did seem to learn from his early rookie mistakes and play well in huge spots for the Bills down the stretch. He is an aggressive playmaker on defense who is capable of covering pass catchers, tackling in space, and making plays downhill. The biggest question is whether he can do these things consistently without missing assignments. All signs point to Bishop being a big part of the defense both now and into the future.
30 Most Important Bills of 2025
Check back as we continue to countdown on our list of the 30 most important Bills ahead of the 2025 season.
No. 30 DT T.J. Sanders, No. 29 LB Dorian Williams, No. 28 DT Larry Ogunjobi, No. 27 Alec Anderson, No. 26 DE A.J. Epenesa, No. 25 DT DaQuan Jones, No. 24 TE Dawson Knox, No. 23 WR Elijah Moore, No. 22 WR Joshua Palmer.