# John Green: Green expects Damar Hamlin to hold the starting safety job opposite Cole Bishop for the rest of the season, with Geno Stone sharing the role in a platoon after C.J. Gardner-Johnson's release. He also sees rookie Jalon Kilgore as the eventual long-term starter (though likely not this season) and thinks Te'Cory Couch could take over the nickel corner job permanently from the injured Dee Alford.

**Claimed:** Nov 5, 2026
**Pundit:** John Green — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-green
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/bills/onsi/week-9-which-bills-safety-should-replace-c-j-gardner-johnson-in-starting-lineup

4 checkable claims — 4 depth chart calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room on every one.

> So, for that reason—as well as the ones mentioned above—some sort of platoon between Hamlin and Stone seems to be the recipe for success moving forward.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Damar Hamlin to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Geno Stone to be 2nd on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Geno Stone, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Te'Cory Couch to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Te'Cory Couch, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jalon Kilgore to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Jalon Kilgore, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Damar Hamlin — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/damar-hamlin
- Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills
- Geno Stone — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/geno-stone
- Te'Cory Couch — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/te-cory-couch
- Jalon Kilgore — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jalon-kilgore

## What others said about the same people

- Randy Gurzi on Taylor Rapp: Gurzi argues that, given Brandon Beane's fondness for reunions, recently released safety Taylor Rapp is a realistic option to return to Buffalo for safety depth — though only if the Bills fail to land a starting-caliber safety at the trade deadline. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5fa74f1d-69bf-4aee-999a-17fe4b2b5175 (scored 0)
- Joe Marino on Taylor Rapp: Marino argues the Bills should and almost certainly will release safety Taylor Rapp to save cap space, saying he'd be stunned if Buffalo kept him. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6293af64-318f-43ba-b5be-7b2d42fabe29 (scored 100)
- Shanna McCarriston on Buffalo Bills: She picks the Bills to beat the Ravens in a close game at Highmark Stadium, with a final score of 33-30. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/be1d8252-fa89-4334-9cda-6780cd429440 (scored 50)
- Ryan Wormeli on Buffalo Bills: Wormley expected the Bills to beat the Ravens and predicted the Jaguars would blow out a demoralized Colts team. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cc226632-db5c-46b5-87cb-f22ef2ccfe54 (scored 100)
- Nick Wright on Buffalo Bills: Wright picked Buffalo to beat Baltimore in Lamar Jackson's return game, argued the Bills' much-maligned defense will climb to roughly 24th in the league rather than finishing 30th, expects Jacksonville to beat the Ravens four days later, and said a win in Denver would make 12 wins Kansas City's floor. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c597cd66-46e9-4cd1-b562-93b413d2c20b (scored 100)
- Connor Rogers on Buffalo Bills: Rogers picked straight-up winners across the Week 8 slate, siding with the Bills over the Ravens, the Lions, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Patriots, Commanders and the Bears in Seattle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14b3a81b-ba4d-4270-b122-8cfe7fc959b0 (scored 100)

## More depth chart calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Jeremy Brener on Jalen Milroe: Brener suggests Seattle may turn to rookie-contract quarterback Jalen Milroe for his first career start in Week 9 against the Cardinals, with Sam Darnold ruled out and Drew Lock dealing with an elbow injury. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/42d1bd81-5e19-456e-9f68-b3b135170ec0 (scored 0)
- Michael Moore on Shedeur Sanders: In a Week 9 injury roundup, Moore forecast which banged-up fantasy contributors would play or sit: Deshaun Watson, Garrett Wilson, David Montgomery, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, TreVeyon Henderson and Terrance Ferguson are expected out, while Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley, Michael Wilson, Christian Watson and Emeka Egbuka should play. He also expects Shedeur Sanders and Drew Lock to start at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e26319a3-10aa-49a6-a24d-a257521363f0 (scored 100)
- Zachary Pereles on Shedeur Sanders: Pereles writes that if Deshaun Watson can't clear concussion protocol in time, the Browns would likely turn to second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders to start Week 9 against the Saints. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6dad75dd-1818-4a6a-91ea-832f491c2530 (scored 100)
- Nic Bodiford on Joe Fagnano: Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. He also views Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a13b9f29-bb76-4c56-b226-aca74b21f5b7 (scored 100)
- Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace him as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0)
- Jacob Herlin on J.J. McCarthy: Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. He also expects Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf4a2992-3760-464e-b540-6182ebc4457f (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

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