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Update: Darby was traded to Philadelphia in exchange for Jordan Matthews and draft picks. You can read more here. 

Selected with the No. 50 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft out of Florida State, many knew that it was only a matter of time before Ronald Darby would be called upon to be the Buffalo Bills’ No. 1 cornerback, as Stephon Gilmore would hit free agency and commanded a high price tag.

The question for Darby was whether he’d be up for the challenge. After looking a bit lost during the preseason of his rookie year, Darby adjusted quickly and made an immediate impact from the first Sunday he took the field with the Bills, intercepting Andrew Luck and locking down T.Y Hilton for most of the afternoon.

It’s widely noted that players will make their biggest leap in development during their third professional season and after playing in former head coach Rex Ryan’s aggressive defense that called for a lot of man coverage for two years, Darby will be learning new head coach Sean McDermott’s zone-heavy scheme in 2017.

Darby, who stands 5-foot-11, 193-pounds, had a stellar start to his career, earning Pro Football Focus’ Defensive Rookie of the Year Award after recording 68 tackles, 21 pass breakups and two interceptions. He allowed just 54.3-percent of passes to be completed against him for 660 yards and just four touchdowns – all of which occurred over a two-game span.

He graded out as their seventh-best cornerback despite being tested 105 times, the fifth-most as any defender in the NFL.

Darby’s play took a bit of a step back in 2016, as the entire Buffalo defense seemingly fell apart. He allowed 61.3-percent of targets against him to be completed against him and he only broke up 12 passes while failing to record an interception.

Gilmore departed to the rival New England Patriots in free agency, leaving the 23-year old as the longest-tenured member of the Bills’ secondary. Darby’s acknowledged this fact and understands that he needs to act as a leader among his elders, while taking rookie first-round pick Tre’Davious White under his wing, much like Gilmore did for him.

Darby has great speed, plays with sound technique, possesses the instincts and ability to break on passes in a split second and is a reliable tackler – all of which are traits that a cornerback in McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s zone schemes must possess. In the diagram from Cover1.net shown below, Darby showcases each of these talents in a single play.

Following a minicamp practice early in the offseason, Darby told reporters that he was excited about the new defense, explaining that he won’t be in the same coverage for an entire game.

“A huge difference, you know, we’re not in Cover-1 every play, like, you know, we could mix it up a lot. You know, a lot of different coverages to help you keep your eyes on the quarterback to make plays on the ball,” Darby said.”

He went on to say that he spent time in the offseason working on his ball skills, which he hopes will take his game to the next level.

“Last year I dropped about four or five picks, so you know, my season wouldn’t have been that horrible if I caught those. Like, I just got to work on my hands, and that’s something I’ve been stressing.”

Darby is a talented cornerback and he’s proven that he can play at a high caliber. If he can bounce back from his inconsistent 2016 season, Darby could find his name mentioned among the stars at his position this year.