Are the Bills set at TE?

[Penfield45]

We haven't had a good TE since the 90's. I think Knox can def improve next season. I'd like to see him used far more esp in the redzone. 

[mjt328]

The Bills drafted two guys last year (Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney), and really like both.

They also signed Tyler Kroft, and watched him battle injuries the entire season.  They obviously like him as well.

 

This was also a very crappy year for Tight Ends in the draft.  Cole Kmet was the highest ranked, and I think the Bears took him a round too early.

 

[Marvlevydraftdaygenius]

54 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

'suchuncops'?  Between your screen name and 'suchuncops', I think your space bar is broken.

Typing on a dam cell phone.

[Alphadawg7]

2 hours ago, Jerry Jabber said:

It was a generalization of how the Bills haver treated the TE position over the decades. I've been a Bills fan since 1980 and can only name a handful of TE's that have made any kind of impact on the team. Clay and Knox are probably the most the Bills have invested in the TE position since the 90's. The Bills overpaid for Clay and got some good production out of him early on, but declined significantly towards the end. Knox has potential, but he has a lot of work to do. 

I love that movie. "Coach, it looks like I just jacked off an elephant..." 

 

I get that, but all that matters is what this regime has done.  Everything prior is irrelevant, and this regime has drafted and signed TEs.  So just saying they haven’t been neglecting it

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Don't understand why no one's ever asked this question. ?

[Jerry Jabber]

24 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

I get that, but all that matters is what this regime has done.  Everything prior is irrelevant, and this regime has drafted and signed TEs.  So just saying they haven’t been neglecting it

IMO, one possibly good asset [Knox]. Kroft has had his share of injuries even before coming to Buffalo, so if he can’t stay on the field, it’s a waste of a roster space. Smith is a good blocking TE, but also takes dumb penalties. Sweeney is a seventh round pick and how many seventh rounders become playmakers in the league? Not many. I’m not saying it can’t happen with Sweeney, I sure hope him and Knox can be a great tandem for years to come, but besides the third round pick, it still shows that this regime doesn’t value the TE position as much as other teams do. With having a young, developing QB, it would make sense to give him that “safety valve,” meaning a big target that can get open 15-20 yards down the field and who is also a threat in the red zone that can outmuscle DB’s. KC and Baltimore have done that for their QB’s. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Jerry Jabber

[Alphadawg7]

6 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

IMO, one possibly good asset [Knox]. Kroft has had his share of injuries even before coming to Buffalo, so if he can’t stay on the field, it’s a waste of a roster space. Smith is a good blocking TE, but also takes dumb penalties. Sweeney is a seventh round pick and how many seventh rounders become playmakers in the league? Not many. I’m not saying it can’t happen with Sweeney, I sure hope him and Knox can be a great tandem for years to come, but besides the third round pick, it still shows that this regime doesn’t value the TE position as much as other teams do. With having a young, developing QB, it would make sense to give him that “safety valve,” meaning a big target that can get open 15-20 yards down the field and who is also a threat in the red zone that can outmuscle DB’s. KC and Baltimore have done that for their QB’s. 

 

Doesn't matter where Sweeney was drafted, that information is completely irrelevant now.  All that matters is what he is doing on the field, and last year he showed promise. So this idea that he cant succeed now because where he was drafted just has no value anymore.  

 

Knox and Sweeny both showed a lot of upside, especially Knox.  They still have a veteran presence in Kroft who didn't really get to show what he might be able to add last year due to being derailed by an injury for most the season.  And yeah, if he cant stay healthy then there isn't much value he adds.

 

But here is the thing:  This draft, the TE class was probably the weakest position in the class.  What TE are they going to add that has more upside than Knox and Sweeney?  No way one of the TE's were going to be BPA when AJ Espensa was on the board.  We needed a RB more, and Moss was BPA on the board.  

 

So its easy to criticize not taking a TE, but the reality is there wasn't one to take nor were they the BPA when we picked.  And once you got past round 3, there was nothing available that is a better prospect than our own two TE's.  I dont think they have any intention on cutting Knox or Sweeney, and Kroft is here one more year.  Thats 3 TE's right now...where does a late round TE fit in?  

 

Again, my original comment was about you saying its been neglected...signing and drafting 3 TE's last year alone says otherwise.  And two of them showed upside last year.

 

I have no doubt what so ever that if Knox doesn't take a big step forward this season and lock down the starting spot, that TE will be high on the priority list next offseason as Kroft will also be a FA.   

[GoBills808]

No

[Kmart128]

Honestly I love Knox. He could be the next George Kittle. Unfortunately he got forced into action last year. And he did pretty well considering how raw he was considered. I do however think we needed to sign a stop-gap TE for 1 year to let Knox develop a little more before handing him the reigns. Unfortunately Olsen didnt agree to sign with us and other TE werent willing to accept a 1 year deal

Edited April 26, 2020 by Kmart128

[folz]

I am not disagreeing that the TE position has been a bit of a wasteland since the mid-90s. The only names that jump to my mind in that time as being decent are Jay Riemersma and Scott Chandler and we didn't even have a good number two behind either of them.

 

But, like QBs, there just aren't that many elite TEs at any given time. I think that sometimes we see the Travis Kelce's and George Kittle's of the world and think, hey, we need one of those guys. But not every team can have a Rob Gronkowski or a Patrick Mahomes or a Deandre Hopkins, etc. There just aren't that many of those guys out there. Everyone else has to make do at that spot. 

 

For instance, only 3 TEs had over 1,000 yards last year; Only 8 TEs had over 700 yards; and only 14 teams had a TE go over 500 yards. So, more than half the league didn't have a TE top 500 yards. And only 6 TEs had more than 5 TDs last season.

 

So, if you are thinking that a good number one TE should be getting say 600 yards and 5 TDs (or better), well, only 8 guys accomplished that last year. So, 24 teams in the league don't have that guy.

 

Right now, the TE position is not bleak, it just has a lot of unanswered questions. Will Knox take the next step and be more reliable; will Kroft come back from the injuries (you can't base his value on the little he played at the end of the year---the guy was coming off of three consecutive injuries); can Lee Smith stop the dumb penalties, can Tommy progress; what's going on with Croom's development (we haven't seen him in almost two years)? 

 

But, outside of finding one of those, maybe 8-12, elite TEs, I don't see where they could have improved this group much. They brought in 3 TEs last year, two rookies and one who got injured, so unfortunately we just have to be patient and see if these guys develop. Unless you pulled off a trade for an elite TE, bringing in another rookie wouldn't have helped that much this year. The first TE didn't go off the board until the mid-second round (before our pick) and the next one didn't go off the board until the late third round. So, it doesn't seem that there were any high-end TEs in this draft. And that being the case, I'd rather see Knox and Sweeney develop than pick guys of the same or lower caliber this year (who would just be a year behind in their development).

 

A stud TE would be nice, but there just wasn't a way to get one this year (outside of the attempt to sign Greg Olsen). The only other option for an upgrade was maybe Hooper, but he had a lot of suitors and went for 10.5 million a year. Oooof. If Knox or Sweeney doesn't takes the next step, then we won't be spectacular at the position, but still having Smith and resigning Kroft (and getting at least what we got from Knox last year), we should at least be solid and functional. Plus, adding Diggs, 2 rookie WRs, and a back who can catch passes, well, there are only so many balls to go around. We probably won't need the TE position to produce elite stats, but rather just play their role.

 

So, to me it seems that It just wasn't the right time to address the position this offseason.

Edited April 27, 2020 by folz

[ColoradoBills]

36 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

IMO, one possibly good asset [Knox]. Kroft has had his share of injuries even before coming to Buffalo, so if he can’t stay on the field, it’s a waste of a roster space. Smith is a good blocking TE, but also takes dumb penalties. Sweeney is a seventh round pick and how many seventh rounders become playmakers in the league? Not many. I’m not saying it can’t happen with Sweeney, I sure hope him and Knox can be a great tandem for years to come, but besides the third round pick, it still shows that this regime doesn’t value the TE position as much as other teams do. With having a young, developing QB, it would make sense to give him that “safety valve,” meaning a big target that can get open 15-20 yards down the field and who is also a threat in the red zone that can outmuscle DB’s. KC and Baltimore have done that for their QB’s. 

 

I don't think Beane and McDermott under value the TE position my question is what roles do they want from their TEs.

In today's NFL it's all about TEs receiving stats.  I'm still not totally understanding what kind of TE mix they want.

There seems to be 3 types of TE in my mind.

1.  The kind that is expected to do some in-line blocking but mainly used as a receiving threat.

2.  The blocking TE that can occasionally slip out and grab a few passes that defenders more or less ignore.

3.  The all around TE that does a little of both but realistically is not superior in either role like the other 2.

I wonder in the perfect world if Beane/McD/Daboll want 1 of each or a blocker and a couple of all around guys.

Do they want 3 or 4 on the main roster?

 

Personally I don't mind a blocking TE (Lee Smith type) but Smith is turning 34 this year has always had penalty issues and they really

need to think about moving on from him.  Nate Becker (PS guy last year) is supposedly a very good blocking TE.

I don't know about Sweeney's ability to become one of these.  But I see the Bills only needing one of these guys.

 

Kroft seems to be on his last leg here unless he shows up big time this year so I see him being replaced next year.

Knox hopefully can become that all around TE which is my idea of a true TE.

Croom is the lightest of all the TEs and I remember his blocking being weak.  Probably his last year here even with the "boy toy" title.

 

[hemma]

Catch the ball and there is no problem.