The Buffalo Bills have spent years trying to get more juice into the back end of their defense, and Jalon Kilgore looks like the kind of athlete who can help change that conversation. The rookie safety gives Jim Leonhard another piece to work with as Buffalo starts sorting out what this new-look defense is going to look like.
Kilgore, who wears No. 29, arrived in Buffalo as a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina, taken 167th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and he’ll turn 22 on Jan.
27, 2027. His rookie deal is worth $4,843,324 over four years, with a 2026 cap hit of $1,000,831 if he makes the 53-man roster.
If Buffalo cuts him, the team would take on a dead-cap charge of $463,324.
What jumped off the page in college was production. In 11 games last season, Kilgore piled up 54 tackles, good for fourth on the team, while missing one game because of a hamstring injury.
He also tied for the team lead with two interceptions and led the Gamecocks with 10 pass breakups. Before the season, his teammates voted him one of five permanent captains, and after the year he stacked up the honors: Phil Steele Third Team All-SEC, SEC Coaches Second Team, PFSN First Team, and co-Defensive MVP.
The athletic testing only sharpened the case. At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Kilgore ran 4.4 in the 40, posted a 4.32 in the 20-yard shuttle, benched 225 pounds 16 times, and turned in a 37-inch vertical and a 10-foot-10 broad jump. His Relative Athletic Score came out to 9.97, making him the fifth-highest scorer at strong safety since 1987.
Buffalo’s safety room is crowded enough already. C.J.
Gardner-Johnson, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Geno Stone, and Wande Owens are all listed there, while Sam Franklin is listed as a defensive back and Jordan Hancock is also listed at defensive back, with the possibility of playing slot corner or safety. Kilgore still found his way onto the roster picture, and he’s healthy after participating in offseason workouts.
The fit is the interesting part. Kilgore played more of a big nickel or “Star” role at South Carolina, which raises questions about where he lands in the NFL.
Can he stay connected to receivers over the middle? Can he handle the backpedal and reaction demands of a deep-third safety?
Those are the questions hanging over him. But his college track record and his overall athletic profile suggest he can handle multiple jobs in the secondary.
Todd McShay at The Ringer compared him to Derwin James, while noting that Kilgore doesn’t have the same high-end game tape that pushed James into the first round. The label attached to Kilgore is low-floor, high-ceiling, with a likely early role as a rotational defensive back and special teams contributor before he grows into more. That lines up with Buffalo’s current setup, since Gardner-Johnson and Bishop are the expected starters at safety when healthy.
The real question now is how quickly Kilgore can carve out a role. He could push for the third safety job, or battle someone like Hancock for snaps as a big nickel or dime hybrid. However it plays out, Leonhard has a versatile piece to move around, and Kilgore has a real chance to make his case as Buffalo’s most impactful rookie defender by season’s end.
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