The Buffalo Bills came away from the 2017 NFL Draft with a new cornerback to add to head coach Sean McDermott's defense with first-round pick Tre'Davious White. Now to supplement the depth at the position, the Bills have added another veteran to the group.
The Bills announced on Monday morning that they've come to terms with free agent cornerback Shareece Wright, most recently of the Baltimore Ravens.
Wright, 30, started in nine games for the Ravens last season and amassed 52 total tackles along with six passes defensed. A former third-round pick, Wright is heading into his seventh season in the league, though has only one interception to his name.
The cornerback has also spent time with the San Diego Chargers, and briefly with the San Francisco 49ers. He previously made a free agent visit to Orchard Park ahead of the draft.
Joe B's Take
In need of quality depth at the cornerback position, the Bills brought in Wright to supplement the top three young players at the position. Though Wright has only one interception to his name, he does something that's quite important to head coach Sean McDermott from his cornerbacks: he tackles well.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wright ranked 21st out of the entire league of cornerbacks in 2016 in run support. It's likely that with his experience in the league, he can serve as a valuable backup in the event that either Tre'Davious White isn't ready to start right away, or if one of Ronald Darby or Kevon Seymour don't directly fit into the defense, or in a worst case scenario, one of the trio gets injured.
Out of 110 cornerbacks that had enough snaps on defense last year, Wright ranked 82nd in pass coverage according to Pro Football Focus, which would likely indicate he'll be just a depth player for the Bills to start.
It is rather interesting, though, that the last two cornerbacks the Bills have added to the roster (White and Wright), both have an arm length of over 32 inches -- which was a bit of a staple for McDermott's cornerbacks in Carolina. For reference, Darby and Seymour's arms both measure in at under 32 inches.
So for now, Wright provides a much-needed depth role that the Bills didn't have previously. Though, in the McDermott era, every starting position will need to be earned -- especially at cornerback, so you really can't rule out anything just yet.
