Phil The Thrill Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 I was excited for the Tyler Kroft signing this offseason considering he seemed to be a much more athletic version of Scott Chandler. But since returning from injury 3 weeks ago, he’s had hardly any impact on the offense. From what I’ve been able to see, it looks like he’s had 3 targets, and 2 catches for just 32 yards. With the emergence of Dawson Knox this season (due partly to Kroft’s absence) and Josh Allen learning to make reads and utilize his receiving options consistently, it makes me wonder what his role on the team will be this year and moving forward. The majority of the snaps will go to Knox this season and next season. The Bills love using Lee Smith (when he’s not committing penalties!) in 2 TE and “big people” sets. Then there’s Tommy Sweeney. He’s been inactive for most of the year and yes he’s a 7th round pick, but it makes you wonder if he can match Kroft’s production as a backup TE. This leaves Kroft as a #2 TE at best. Many times a TE2 is the 3rd option in passing plus. At this point, I’m not sure if Allen is a point in his passing where he can read a defense well enough to utilize this position. Surprisingly there is an out clause in his contract in 2020. Where the Bills could void the remaining years of his deal and eat about $1.6 M of dead cap space. Best case scenario - what realistic role do you see Tyler Kroft playing this season? And do you think he’s in danger of getting cut next season, given the out-clause in his contract in 2020? 2
GunnerBill Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 I like him but he has had a problem staying healthy and Knox has a similar skillset but a higher ceiling. I think he just lost out being hurt. Very much at risk of being cut after the season. 3
Franchiseneedsme Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Yes cut him. $6m can be better spent. Need to pick up a DE, another upgrade somewhere on the Oline, And another WR. 3
ILBillsfan Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 28:42 watch kroft get called out and if he makes this play and picks the LB a little(looks like to me he actually slows up) then singletary has a huge gain. Was also times in this video I seen Kroft kept in to block Definitely needs to improve
Gugny Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Is it against the rules to have two TE on the field at the same time? 2
Steptide Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 I think him being injured through ota's and training camp definitely didn't help. I think he'll be good, but we may not see it until next season 1
frostbitmic Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 I'd prefer keeping him as the #2 TE, provided he stays healthy the rest of this season, and get rid of Lee "the human penalty" Smith, even if it costs more to eat his salary. Sweeney and Croom can fight it out for the #3 job. 2 1
SoCal Deek Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Is there a role for a TE in the Bills offense? There hasn’t been such a role for the last 40 years. Why start now? We’ve been doing just fine playing with 10 men! 1 4 1
John from Riverside Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Knox was also hurt through Ota and he was making plays
Bubba Gump Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 His role is to monitor the training room, he's in there more than on the field. 1
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 19 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: I like him but he has had a problem staying healthy and Knox has a similar skillset but a higher ceiling. I think he just lost out being hurt. Very much at risk of being cut after the season. ...have to agree.......think the youngsters Knox & Sweeney will develop nicely....either Kroft or Smith will be gone..... 1
H2o Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Knox is clearly becoming one of Josh's favorite targets, has been better blocking than most expected, and seems to be really effective even as a rookie. He's the #1 TE at this point. Now that Kroft is back he's either nothing special or is seriously behind due to the time he missed. More than likely it's the time he missed, but if Sweeney continues to improve in their eyes then I think Kroft may become expendable. This is McDermott though and he will likely lobby for the guy due to the missed time with the team. You know who shouldn't be on the field though? Captain Yellow Flag, Lee Smith. 1
TigerJ Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Kroft is a pretty well rounded TE. That means he can block and he can catch the ball. He's not the blocker that Lee Smith is supposed to be, but then Lee Smith has had a ton of penalties. In the near term, I would probably give Kroft some of the reps that Lee Smith has been getting to see if he can block well enough AND cut down some on the penalties Buffalo has been giving up with Smith. Long term, I don't see any particular reason to keep him longer than his contract creates an uncomfortable dead cap burden.
CommonCents Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Sweeney looked fine, Kroft hasn’t done anything. I still don’t understand why Kroft and Smith are getting snaps in front of him. Neither have done anything, one of them is a minus. A very big minus. 2
stuvian Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 we haven't had meaningful TE production since Scott Chandler 1
Hapless Bills Fan Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 39 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: I was excited for the Tyler Kroft signing this offseason considering he seemed to be a much more athletic version of Scott Chandler. But since returning from injury 3 weeks ago, he’s had hardly any impact on the offense. From what I’ve been able to see, it looks like he’s had 3 targets, and 2 catches for just 32 yards. With the emergence of Dawson Knox this season (due partly to Kroft’s absence) and Josh Allen learning to make reads and utilize his receiving options consistently, it makes me wonder what his role on the team will be this year and moving forward. The majority of the snaps will go to Knox this season and next season. The Bills love using Lee Smith (when he’s not committing penalties!) in 2 TE and “big people” sets. Then there’s Tommy Sweeney. He’s been inactive for most of the year and yes he’s a 7th round pick, but it makes you wonder if he can match Kroft’s production as a backup TE. This leaves Kroft as a #2 TE at best. Many times a TE2 is the 3rd option in passing plus. At this point, I’m not sure if Allen is a point in his passing where he can read a defense well enough to utilize this position. Surprisingly there is an out clause in his contract in 2020. Where the Bills could void the remaining years of his deal and eat about $1.6 M of dead cap space. Best case scenario - what realistic role do you see Tyler Kroft playing this season? And do you think he’s in danger of getting cut next season, given the out-clause in his contract in 2020? There's a role for the TE they thought Kroft to be on this team. 2 TE is part of Daboll's offensive plans. Whether Kroft steps up and fills it or not, remains to be seen. I think we have to give him an off-season or at least a few more weeks to see if he can build trust with Allen first. The majority of the snaps are going to Knox, but it's not clear to me if something having to do with Kroft's injury is involved. Kroft got the majority of the snaps his 2nd week back (vs Philly) with 58% to Knox 45%. The following week Kroft's snaps plummeted to 26% while Knox surge to 76%. Last week against the Brownies Knox was 59% and Kroft 40%. I don't think you can make a definitive statement like "the majority of the snaps will go to Knox this season and next season". The problem is, while the #1 TE role is there for the taking on the Bills, we don't seem to have anyone clearly contending to step up and take it. Kroft has been invisible so far. Knox has played very well at times, but he's rocking a 22% drop rate. Does that really get fixed in the NFL? Any examples? You can wonder about Sweeney, but he hasn't shown much yet. 17 minutes ago, HOUSE said: Tyler Kroft will tear up the un suspecting Miami Dolphins with 12 one handed catches for well over 200 yards From your mouth to God's ears 3 minutes ago, CommonCents said: Sweeney looked fine, Kroft hasn’t done anything. I still don’t understand why Kroft and Smith are getting snaps in front of him. Neither have done anything, one of them is a minus. A very big minus. Disagree on Sweeney - what did he do that looked fine? Smith is a superb blocker who plays very well in the blocking game when he isn't getting penalties. Kroft has been the invisible man so far. I'm about to go on a "film hunt" to see if I can see what he's doing on those 40% of our offensive snaps. 1 1
PetermansRedemption Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 4 minutes ago, stuvian said: we haven't had meaningful TE production since Scott Chandler Disgusting Bills fact. Scott Chandler led the team in receiving yards in 2013 ?♂️ 1
Coach Tuesday Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 Honestly he looks out of shape to me. 1
CommonCents Posted November 16, 2019 Posted November 16, 2019 2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: There's a role for the TE they thought Kroft to be on this team. 2 TE is part of Daboll's offensive plans. Whether Kroft steps up and fills it or not, remains to be seen. I think we have to give him an off-season or at least a few more weeks to see if he can build trust with Allen first. The majority of the snaps are going to Knox, but it's not clear to me if something having to do with Kroft's injury is involved. Kroft got the majority of the snaps his 2nd week back (vs Philly) with 58% to Knox 45%. The following week Kroft's snaps plummeted to 26% while Knox surge to 76%. Last week against the Brownies Knox was 59% and Kroft 40%. I don't think you can make a definitive statement like "the majority of the snaps will go to Knox this season and next season". The problem is, while the #1 TE role is there for the taking on the Bills, we don't seem to have anyone clearly contending to step up and take it. Kroft has been invisible so far. Knox has played very well at times, but he's rocking a 22% drop rate. Does that really get fixed in the NFL? Any examples? You can wonder about Sweeney, but he hasn't shown much yet. From your mouth to God's ears One of them is a superb blocker who plays very well when he isn't getting penalties. Zero threat as a pass catcher, an extra tackle would offer the same thing with less penalties. I don’t think Sweeney is a world beater but I feel like he could serve as a guy like Jesse James when he got his targets in Pitt. A reliable guy who can get open and knows when to sit down in a zone. Smith is having a horrible season. I don’t think you’d hurt the team by giving him a week off and trying something different. 1
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