Phidarian Mathis

No. 72 · 5th season

Mathis has been waiting. The Bills' new defense might finally let him show it.

Second-round picks are supposed to matter. Sometimes it just takes a while for the situation to catch up to the player.

Phidarian Mathis came into the league with the kind of draft pedigree that carries real expectations. But expectations and opportunity are different things, and for a while, those two hadn't quite lined up for him in Buffalo.

Now the Bills are running a new defensive scheme, and by all accounts, Mathis is set to play a bigger part in it. More snaps, more responsibility, more chances to be the reason the other team has a bad night.

For a player who has been waiting his turn, that kind of opening doesn't come twice. The question isn't whether Mathis can handle it. It's whether the moment is finally timed right.

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Phidarian Mathis

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