30 most important Buffalo Bills players of 2025: No. 6 Taron Johnson

As the Buffalo Bills prepare for the 2025 NFL season, we'll take a look at the most important contributors on their roster. They have a ton of cornerstone players who will be returning for another shot at bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo, and they'll have help from some new additions as well.

Leading up to the season, we will be counting down the top 30 most important players on the roster. We'll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to what they'll offer in 2025, and tackle the most pressing questions surrounding them this coming year.

Next up on the countdown is Taron Johnson.

Background

Position: Nickel cornerback

Age at start of season: 29

Experience: Eighth year

2025 cap hit: $8,010,000

2024 recap

Taron Johnson suffered a forearm injury in Week 1 of the 2024 season and it forced him to get off to a slow start. He missed the next four games and returned for Week 6. He not only dealt with the forearm but he had a shoulder injury as well that required surgery in the offseason. Still, Johnson was able to play in all three postseason games in his important nickel corner role where he's asked to cover some of the shiftier players in the league and also come downhill and tackle like a linebacker. In 12 regular season games last year, he recorded two interceptions (one for a TD), 65 tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery which resulted in a touchdown.

2025 outlook

Johnson will return as a cornerstone of the Bills defense in 2025. In 2023, the last season where he was healthy, he was named a second-team All-Pro. There is added talent around him this coming year with the revamped defensive line and the return of linebacker Matt Milano so Johnson should be a key cog in a bounce-back year for the Bills defense. Although not listed as a captain, Johnson is one of the veteran leaders on the team and has been in the trenches delivering big hits since 2018.

Biggest question: What does the future hold?

Johnson will turn 30 years old next year ahead of the 2026 season. There is an "out" in his contract after this coming year that the Bills could take and save on the cap in 2026 and 2027, but as of right now, there is no sign that they would cut ties with Johnson. He has meant a ton to head coach Sean McDermott and the Bills defense since becoming a regular starter in 2019. He was drafted in 2018 during a rebuilding phase for the Bills and he has played a big role in the team turning into one of the best in the NFL over the last five seasons. He's had big moments, including the 101-yard pick-six in the 2020 divisional round, and he'd love nothing more than to be around for the Bills bringing home a Lombardi Trophy.

30 Most Important Bills of 2025

Check back as we continue to countdown on our list of the 30 most important Bills ahead of the 2025 season.

No. 30 DT T.J. Sanders, No. 29 LB Dorian Williams, No. 28 DT Larry Ogunjobi, No. 27 Alec Anderson, No. 26 DE A.J. Epenesa, No. 25 DT DaQuan Jones, No. 24 TE Dawson Knox, No. 23 WR Elijah Moore, No. 22 WR Joshua Palmer, No. 21 S Cole Bishop, No. 20 K Tyler Bass, No. 19 WR Keon Coleman, No. 18 G David Edwards, No. 17 DE Joey Bosa, No. 16 G O'Cyrus Torrence, No. 15 CB Max Hairston, No. 14 TE Dalton Kincaid, No. 13 LB Matt Milano, No. 12 DT Ed Oliver, No. 11 S Taylor Tapp, No.10 RB James Cook, No. 9 C Connor McGovern, No. 8 WR Khalil Shakir, No. 7 DE Greg Rousseau.

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 30 most important Buffalo Bills players of 2025: No. 6 Taron Johnson