Youboty emerging in Bills' defensive backfield
by Brian Galliford on Sep 12, 2008
Youboty making his presence felt early (buffalobills.com)
"The pass defense of the Buffalo Bills in 2007 ranked next-to-last in the NFL." "He's injury-prone." "The Bills signed a cornerback and drafted three more in the off-season." "He's buried on the depth chart."
These were all used, once upon a time, as reasons why Buffalo Bills cornerback Ashton Youboty - just now entering his third season in the league - might not make Buffalo's final roster in 2008. After two years of misfortune, however, Youboty has emerged from the bowels of the Bills' depth chart. His work ethic is impeccable, and his potential is through the roof. What's more, he's backed up what he's done in the practice setting with results on the field.
In short, Ashton Youboty may have saved Buffalo's entire defensive backfield.
Youboty the player
The strides that Youboty have taken in just one off-season aren't completely shocking - there is, after all, a very good reason that the Bills made Youboty their third-round selection in the 2006 draft. The kid's got talent, and a lot of it. But his progress leading into the 2008 season can certainly be filed under the "pleasant surprise" category.
He hasn't hit his full potential yet. Particularly while back in coverage, Youboty has some polishing to do on his game. On one play in particular in the team's win over Seattle (you may remember it as the play in which Seahawks WR Nate Burleson shredded his knee, ending his season), Youboty got his hips turned badly almost immediately by Burleson. Had the receiver not been injured, it likely would have been a big gainer. Youboty's relatively new to playing the slot, so he needs to work on his leverages and his hips to become more effective in that role.
Where Youboty has made his mark, however, is as a playmaker. The Bills, by and large, have solid cornerbacks, but Youboty alone of the group has shown that he can consistently make plays from the position. He was even doing it in last year's season finale, intercepting a Donovan McNabb pass in one of the few highlights of that game. Youboty was effective making plays in the backfield against the Seahawks; Perry Fewell routinely used him in blitz packages, and Youboty ended up leading the team in tackles on the day.