Pre-draft NFL.com media analyst
Daniel Jeremiah listed Benford as the No. 23 cornerback prospect (145th overall) on his big board.
Scouts Inc. had Benford listed as the No. 25 cornerback (220th overall) available in the draft. NFL draft analysts and scouts including
Lance Zierlein and DraftScout.com projections for him varied from the fourth or fifth round to as late as the seventh round.
2022 The
Buffalo Bills selected Benford in the sixth round (185th overall) of the
2022 NFL draft. He was the 25th cornerback selected and the second cornerback drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2022, following first-round pick (23rd overall)
Kaiir Elam. The Bills acquired this selection from the
Carolina Panthers in exchange for defensive end
Darryl Johnson. He became the first player drafted from Villanova since
Tanoh Kpassagnon (2017) and their first defensive back drafted since
David Martin (1981). On May 13, 2022, the Bills signed Benford to a four–year, $3.85 million
rookie contract that included a
signing bonus of $194,276. Throughout training camp, he competed to be the No. 3 cornerback on the depth chart against Dane Jackson and
Cam Lewis. After unexpectedly progressing quicker than expected and performing well, Benford became a candidate to earn a starting cornerback role, challenging fellow rookie Kaiir Elam. The continued absence of No. 1 starting cornerback
Tre'Davious White and the departure of
Levi Wallace necessitated replacements to begin the season. Head coach
Sean McDermott named Benford the No. 2 starting cornerback to begin the regular season and paired him with
Dane Jackson. On September 8, 2022, Benford made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the
Buffalo Bills' season-opener at the
Los Angeles Rams and recorded three combined tackles (one solo) and had a pass deflection as the defeated the Rams 31–10. In Week 3, Benford exited during the second quarter of a 19–21 loss at the
Miami Dolphins due to a fractured hand. He was subsequently inactive, but was only limited to missing two games (Weeks 4–5). He was replaced as a starting cornerback by Kaiir Elam during his absence, but regained his position after Elam injured his ankle in Week 9. On November 13, 2022, Benford set a season-high with seven combined tackles (five solo), three pass deflections, and made the first interception of his career on a pass attempt thrown by
Kirk Cousins to wide receiver
K.J. Osborn during a 30–33 overtime loss against the
Minnesota Vikings. In Week 12, he made four combined tackles (two solo) before exiting during the third quarter of the Lions' 28–25 victory at the
Detroit Lions on
Thanksgiving Day due to an injured oblique. On November 26, 2022, the Bills officially placed him on
injured reserve where he remained inactive for the last five games (Weeks 13–18). On January 6, 2023, the Bills activated Benford from injured reserve two days before their Week 18 matchup with the
New England Patriots, but he remained inactive during their 35–23 victory. He finished his rookie season with 24 combined tackles (17 solo), five pass deflections, and one interception in nine games and five starts. He received an overall grade of 59.7 from
Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2022.
2023 On February 28, 2023, the
Buffalo Bills announced that defensive coordinator
Leslie Frazier would not be returning to the in 2023 and would possibly return to coaching in 2024, but it would be unlikely be with the Bills. Following his departure, head coach Sean McDermott temporarily took over as defensive coordinator. Throughout training camp, Benford competed against Dane Jackson and
Kaiir Elam for the role as the No. 2 starting cornerback. He began the season as the No. 2 starting cornerback, alongside
Tre'Davious White and nickelback
Taron Johnson. (#10) of the
New York Jets in 2023 He would be inactive for the Bills' 20–25 loss to the
Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5 due to a shoulder injury. Simultaneously, fellow starting cornerback Tre'Davious White tore his Achilles and would be placed on injured reserve in Week 5. On October 15, 2023, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (eight solo) and recorded one pass deflection during a 14–9 victory against the
New York Giants. On October 31, 2023, the Bills traded the
Green Bay Packers for cornerback
Rasul Douglas and he would start alongside Benford for the remainder of the season. He was inactive again as the Bills lost 22–24 to the
Denver Broncos in Week 10 after injuring his hamstring. He received an overall grade of 83.0 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 9th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2023. He subsequently would be inactive as the Bills lost 27–24 against the
Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. The Chiefs would go on to win
Super Bowl LVIII.
2024 He entered training camp slated as the No. 1 starting cornerback following the departure of
Tre'Davious White under new defensive coordinator
Bobby Babich. Head coach Sean McDermott named Benford and Rasul Douglas the starting cornerbacks to begin the season, alongside nickelback Taron Johnson. In Week 2, he recorded seven combined tackles (six solo), made one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Tua Tagovailoa to wide receiver
Robbie Chosen during a 31–10 victory at the
Miami Dolphins. He was inactive for the Bills' 30–27 win against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9 after injuring his wrist. In Week 14, he set a season-high with eight combined tackles (six solo) and two pass deflections during a 42–44 loss at the
Los Angeles Rams. The following week, Benford made six combined tackles (five solo), a pass deflection, and had his first career sack on
Jared Goff for an eight–yard loss during a 48–42 win at the
Detroit Lions in Week 15. On December 29, 2024, Benford made two solo tackles, one pass deflection, and tied his career-high with his second interception of the season on a pass by
Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver
Allen Lazard as the Bills defeated the
New York Jets 40–14. Head coach Sean McDermott chose rest Benford and listed him inactive as a healthy scratch for the Bills' 16–23 loss at the
New England Patriots in Week 18 in order to rest for the playoffs. He finished the season with a total of 64 combined tackles (50 solo), ten pass deflections, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one sack in 15 games and 15 starts. The
Buffalo Bills finished the season a top the AFC East with a 13–4 record. On January 19, 2025, Benford recorded five combined tackles (three solo) during a 27–25 victory against his hometown
Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round. The following week, he started in the
AFC Championship Game and recorded three combined tackles (two solo) made a pass deflection as the Bills lost 29–32 at the
Kansas City Chiefs.
2025 of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025 On March 29, 2025, the
Buffalo Bills signed Benford to a four–year, $69 million contract extension that includes $37.63 million guaranteed, $18.85 million guaranteed upon signing, and an initial
signing bonus of $7.5 million. In Week 13, Benford recorded an interception and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in a 26-7 win over the
Pittsburgh Steelers, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. In Week 14, Benford intercepted a pass thrown by
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback
Joe Burrow to wide receiver
Ja'Marr Chase and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown. Benford's pick-six touchdown was part of a sequence in which the Bills scored 21 points in under 5 minutes in the fourth quarter to take the lead en route to a 39-34 win over the Bengals. He also recorded a sack on a cornerback blitz. ==NFL career statistics==