Buffalo Rumblings
Buffalo has struck gold with a sixth-round corner before — have they done it again?
The Buffalo Bills under head coach Sean McDermott have a history of developing quality defensive backs. Whether it’s been early round talents like Tre’Davious White, late-round finds like Christian Benford and Dane Jackson, or other teams’ players like Jordan Poyer, the Bills have found ways to maximize the abilities of those players in their defensive backfield.
Part of the reason that’s worked is because the Bills run a defensive system that, while complicated, calls for players with a very particular set of skills. Skills that make them a nightmare for opposing offenses. While running a zone-heavy scheme, the Bills have fashioned themselves as one of the league’s premier teams with a sound defense that consistently finishes in the league's top half.
There is a caveat there, however, and it’s that, sometimes, you just need to be able to match up man-to-man and play, especially against the league’s elite. The Bills seem to recognize this issue, as they’ve added more players in the defensive backfield with plus-athleticism who can play better man coverage than some of the player types they’ve added in the past.
In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss a rookie corner who definitely fits the zone portion of the Bills’ scheme. He’s a sixth-round rookie hoping to show enough versatility to make the final roster come September.
Name: Dorian Strong
Number: 43
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 185 pounds
Age: 23 (24 on 3/14/2026)
Experience/Draft: R; selected by Buffalo in the sixth round (No. 177 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft
College: Virginia Tech
Acquired: Sixth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Strong’s four-year rookie contract is worth $4,485,356 overall. For the 2025 season, he carries a cap hit of $911,339 if he makes the 53-man roster. If he’s released, Buffalo is on the hook for a dead-cap charge of $285,356, which is the total of the contract’s guaranteed money.
2024 Recap: Strong once again spent a full year starting at corner for the Hokies, and while he didn’t have as strong a season as he did in 2023, he was still plenty productive. He tallied 32 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups. Both of his interceptions came in Virginia Tech’s game at Duke. He sat out the team’s bowl game, and just one year after being named Third-Team All-ACC, he was named Al-ACC Honorable Mention. After earning an invite to the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, he performed well, though not exceptionally so, in the drills where he participated. He ran a 4.5-second forty-yard dash, leapt 36” in the vertical jump and 9’8” in the broad jump, and did 15 reps of the bench press at 225 pounds.
Positional outlook: Strong joins a crowded defensive back room that looks like a group in transition. There are also plenty of players who may play different positions, or even multiple positions, once the season begins. Christian Benford, Daequan Hardy, Ja’Marcus...
