Injury Analysis: Buffalo Bills S Jalon Kilgore

Adding help in the secondary, the Buffalo Bills selected South Carolina S Jalon Kilgore in the fifth round. 

Kilgore comes to Buffalo after 36 career games with 33 starts securing 178 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 21 pass deflections, and 8 interceptions. His career culminated in a second team All SEC selection this past season. 

With all the production in just three years, Kilgore does carry some injury concerns with him entering the league. 

Read below for a full injury history and analysis.

Injury History 

2023 South Carolina 

Hamstring, vs Clemson, missed 0 games. 

Kilgore injured his hamstring in the third quarter after favoring it earlier and did not return in the season finale. 

2024 South Carolina 

Leg injury, vs Clemson, missed 0 games.

Kilgore was injured in the third quarter contest against Clemson and did not appear to return. He did not miss any games due to this being the regular season finale and then having a month off until the bowl game. 

2025 South Carolina

Hamstring, vs Virginia Tech, missed 1 game.

Kilgore had injured his hamstring earlier in the week prior to the game and was on a pitch count. It’s not clear if he left early but the injury was significant enough that he missed the following week against South Carolina State. 

Buffalo Bills Injury Analysis

Kilgore only missed one game in his collegiate career which is impressive but he also had fortunate timing down as well. Two of his injuries were at the end of the year where the season was either finished or he had ample time to recover. There aren’t specifics on his 2024 leg injury, but his 2023 hamstring injury is unique in that hamstring injury frequency decreases as the season wears on. 

The other hamstring injury in 2025 was the early season which we see more of historically as players ramp up. He did tweak the muscle but played through it indicating his toughness but also ability to rise up to the moment to be ready for his team. 

Looking at his two known hamstring injuries, there are different ways to injure a hamstring. There is the sprinting which is most common and is the result of active lengthening in terminal swing with acceleration, deceleration, or change of direction.  

Another way is mixed-type where there is a reaching or falling component seen with trunk and hip flexion with a slight knee bend. This is commonly associated with the stance phase of running, lunging, or landing when a player is either overextending themselves or trying to suddenly slow down. There is also sometimes a rotational component during these movements. 

My bet was that he suffered the 2023 hamstring due to the mixed-type mechanism of injury whereas the 2025 injury was potentially more speed based due to the timing of the injury in the season. It’s also not known if this was the same side or different sides. 

It’s hard to go through multiple seasons without injury but it’s important that he did not miss extended time when he was injured. He also plays a position where speed is crucial to the performance and puts the athlete at higher risk for injury. Thank you to Dr. Jimmy Liao for identifying several injuries prior to the draft that were previously unknown. 

Final Thoughts

Kilgore comes in rather healthy with the hamstrings notable but not too much of a concern. He plays a position that is at risk for them, he only missed one game in his career, and he has shown the ability to step up and play through the injury when called upon. It won’t surprise me if he does deal with some soft tissue injuries as he transitions to the NFL, but he doesn’t appear at any increased risk due to his previous history.

He has a great chance to contribute on the roster in the secondary and could be a nice developmental piece alongside Cole Bishop. This is important especially knowing that CJ Gardner-Johnson, Geno Stone, and Damar Hamlin are all on one-year deals along with Wande Owens and Jordan Hancock on rookie deals. 

I’d like to welcome Jalon Kilgore to Buffalo and to remain healthy this season. 

Top Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports