The Buffalo Bills now have their very own Zach Benson

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 1: Zach Benson #6 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Garden on May 1, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

Zach Benson is a 20-year-old terrifically talented, ultra-pesky, super-skilled Buffalo Sabres forward who has ascended to cult hero status with dazzling, bordering-on-dirty play throughout the regular season and particularly during the team’s first-round defeat of the Boston Bruins.

It got me thinking.

Who is Zach Benson on the Buffalo Bills?

After the team’s series-clinching win over the Bruins, I sent this tweet, in search of a Benson nickname:

By the time I started writing this article, it had 82 replies with spectacular suggestions such as River Rat, Scrappy Doo, Benny the Butcher, Bennis the Menace, and Carnie.

I first thought to myself — OK, there’s no one like Benson on the Bills… mostly because the NFL hardly allows Benson-style play in its game. The question I originally wanted to pose was more centered around identifying the young player on the rise who you recognize is not necessarily the best player on the Bills yet someone you would not trade under any circumstances, which is precisely how I feel about Benson and his status on the Sabres.

Then it dawned on me — the Bills DO have a Benson-esque character, but he hasn’t played a snap for the team just yet.

CJ Gardner-Johnson.

Over the years, we’ve seen him repeatedly get under opponents’ skin.

In his second season, as a member of the New Orleans Saints, Gardner-Johnson was punched multiple times by receiver that for the wideout. Those two teams met in the playoffs that January, and in that contest, Chicago receiver got into it with Gardner-Johnson, which resulted in two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the Saints’ win.