| Christian Benford | |
| Current Team: | Buffalo Bills |
| Number: | 47 |
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Birth Date: | 21 September 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 205 |
| Draftyear: | 2022 |
| Draftround: | 6 |
| Draftpick: | 185 |
| Pastteams: |
|
| Status: | Active |
| Highlights: | |
| High School: | Randallstown (Randallstown, Maryland) |
| College: | Villanova (2018–2021) |
| Statleague: | NFL |
| Statseason: | 2023 |
| Statlabel1: | Total tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 78 |
| Statlabel2: | Sacks |
| Statlabel3: | Forced fumbles |
| Statvalue3: | 2 |
| Statlabel4: | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue4: | 1 |
| Statlabel5: | Pass deflections |
| Statvalue5: | 15 |
| Statlabel6: | Interceptions |
| Statvalue6: | 3 |
| Statlabel7: | Defensive touchdowns |
| Pfr: | BenfCh00 |
Christian Benford (born September 21, 2000) is an American professional football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Villanova.
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| BUF | 9 | 5 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 35.0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | ||
| BUF | 15 | 14 | 54 | 43 | 11 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Career | 24 | 19 | 78 | 60 | 18 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||
Benford was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up Randallstown, Maryland, where he attended Randallstown High School.[1] He was named All-Metro and All-Baltimore County as a senior and played for Maryland in the Big 33 Football Classic.[2] Benford committed to play college football at Villanova over an offer from Morgan State.[3]
Benford played in nine games with eight starts as a true freshman and was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Rookie of the Year and third-team All-CAA after making 49 tackles with six pass breakups and five interceptions.[4] He played in ten games with seven starts as a sophomore and broke up five passes with one interception.[5] [6] Benford was named first-team All-CAA in his junior season, which was shortened and played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[7] As a senior, Benford recorded 39 tackles with seven interceptions and an NCAA Division I FCS-leading 18 passes broken up and was again named first-team All-CAA.[8]
Benford was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round, 185th overall, of the 2022 NFL draft.[9] Benford began the season as the starting cornerback for the Bills along with Dane Jackson. In his debut against the Los Angeles Rams he had 3 tackles and one pass defended.[10] Benford fractured his hand in a week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins,[11] missing only two games and coming back in a week six victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He was placed on injured reserve on November 26, 2022.[12] He was activated from injured reserve on January 6, 2023.[13]