The Buffalo Bills added to the secondary late in the second round on Friday selecting Utah S Cole Bishop with the 60th overall pick. The versatile safety comes to Buffalo after three seasons out west appearing in 35 games with 29 starts.
Bishop can come into the secondary and make an immediate impact on special teams and depth behind Taylor Rapp and Mike Edwards. Considering how important the secondary is to the Bills’ defense, getting a young and talented rookie to develop could pay dividends to grow into a starting role.
He does come to Buffalo with several injuries not uncommon to a player in the secondary. Read below for Cole Bishop’s publicly reported injury history and analysis.
Injury History
2021 Utah
Hamstring injury, missed 3 games total.
Bishop suffered a hamstring early in his first collegiate season potentially when he played against Washington State. He did miss the two prior games and USC but it’s not clear why he missed those games. He did miss one additional game late in the season against Oregon, but there is no additional information or whether this is related to the hamstring.
2022 Utah
No publicly reported injuries.
2023 Utah
Undisclosed injury, vs Oregon, missed 1 game
Bishop missed one game due to an undisclosed injury against Arizona after appearing to suffer the injury against Oregon the week prior. His injury was one of many that Utah struggled with later in the season.
Injury Analysis
Another relatively clean injury history other than the hamstring injury in his freshman year. Hamstring injuries are the second most common injury in the NFL and the third most common in college football.
It’s important to note that he did not have any issues his following season or any injuries for that matter. His hamstring injury may have been an acclimation issue transitioning from high school but does not appear to be a concerning issue moving forward.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t anything to dislike about this pick. The hamstring injury was several years ago and he has missed minimal time over the last two seasons. With his selection at the back of the second round, this is in line with selecting players with some injury concerns but overall healthy. Considering how close to the third round this was, this pick made sense for a positional need and potentially impactful player.
I wish Cole Bishop the best of luck and hope that he can stay healthy.
Top Photo Credit: Chris Gardner/Getty Images
