Bills sign TE Jacob Hollister

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

19 hours ago, Boxcar said:

Wait a sec

 

A lot of people really wanted Dan Arnold. Hollister is just about as good as Arnold. I'm confused why people don't like this move. Ertz would've been nice, sure, but we didn't really need an elite TE. This is the tier of TE I wanted the Bills to sign. Wanna see the number but this is very nice on the surface. Knox isn't terrible. We don't need to completely replace him on offense.

 

You had me until you said Knox isn't terrible.

19 hours ago, Rubes said:

Best game for him last year was against the Bills...

 

40% of his highlight video was against us. 😀

[CincyBillsFan]

35 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I'm impressed ...I guess...that you're sufficient of a fan to have payed such careful attention to a TE playing on another team, especially one who started 2019 on the practice squad and 2020 buried on the depth chart/ST, so as to have a long duration of opinion on him.

 

 

Unlike Lee Smith, Hollister can actually run routes and cut and separate and stuff.  He can also one-hand the ball, which I'm not sure whether or not Lee Smith could, but DiMarco couldn't.

I actually think the Bill's running game missed DiMarco this season.  Hollister looks to be a replacement for both Lee Smith & DiMarco at about half the cost. 

 

It's actually brilliant on the part of Bean and Hollister having played with Allen in college is a bonus.

 

 

[Green Lightning]

20 hours ago, Rubes said:

Best game for him last year was against the Bills...

 

Every TE's best game was against the Bills.

[Maynard]

Living in Seattle and unfortunately watching many Seashat games, I always thought Hollister could be a pretty dang good TE.  He’s often injured however, so can’t say this was a great move. He’s friends with Allen though, so it was a low risk/cost flyer. I’m okay with it. 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Maynard

[Hapless Bills Fan]

53 minutes ago, BLZFAN4LIFE said:

40% of his highlight video was against us. 😀

 

You need to check out his 2019 video.  But I'm sure he got that extra pop to be playing against the team led by his former Wyo teammate.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

18 minutes ago, Maynard said:

Living in Seattle and unfortunately watching many Seashat games, I always thought Hollister could be a pretty dang good TE.  He’s often injured however, so can’t say this was a great move. He’s friends with Allen though, so it was a low risk/price flyer. I’m okay with it. 

 

Is he? 

 

He doesn't show up on the injury report for this season or last:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sea/2020_injuries.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sea/2019_injuries.htm

Pro-football-reference usually lists everyone who had an injury designation for a game, though I have found mistakes from time to time. 

 

AFAIK he spent the first 5 games of 2019 on the practice squad then was active for every game week 6-17.  After week 7, he played every game.

He was pushed down the depth chart behind Olsen and Dissly in 2020.  He seems to have been active for every game in 2020 and played ST.

 

Clearly the SeaSnakes thought they needed an upgrade or they wouldn't have pushed to sign Olsen, but they also felt they were a team that was gonna contend for a Championship so you can't blame them for thinking a guy with 3 1000-yd seasons in his past might be part of the improvements to take them there, not to mention a good mentor to raise the level of the younger guys.

 

[Boxcar]

13 hours ago, billsbackto81 said:

Or anywhere else,..... So far.

Sanders could be a sneaky good shiny toy, even if not expensive. Watch some videos of his route running, it's amazing. We probably have 3 of the top 5 route runners in the NFL.

[BADOLBILZ]

11 hours ago, Tipster19 said:

Nice pick up but I’m thinking that there might be more to this signing. Looks like the Bills were a player for Ertz but the demand was too high, as much as a 3rd rd pick for a older veteran who is commanding a 8+M for the final year of his 5 year contract. I believe that Hollister was picked up not only because of Philly’s high demand for Ertz but also because Hollister fills a important capacity, replacing a combination  of Kroft and Lee Smith, 2 aging veterans that were adequate at best in their roles.

 

Enter Cleveland’s TE David Njoku. His 5th year option was guaranteed as of 4:00 pm Wednesday for just over 6M. He would be a great alternative to Ertz and he is much younger (24 yrs old) with a bigger upside. Cleveland is dishing out big money to UFA Austin Hooper, who they signed last March to a 4 year/42M contract and then drafted 4th rd pick Harrison Bryant a month later. The Browns have a awful lot of money tied up at this position. I can see the Bills trading Knox and a later rd pick, if not a 2021 pick then possibly a bit earlier of a pick in 2022 for Njoku. 

 

 

1) I don't think you understand how large that $6M cap number is for Njoku.    They can't spread that $6M out over two seasons like they did with Sanders.    And Njoku has zero reason to negotiate it down or spread it out.   It's guaranteed.   He will want to hit free agency next winter.   Unless you want to offer a guy who caught like 15 passes last year a long term $10M aav deal,   which is a crazy idea.    If the Bills were to get Ertz they would almost certainly extend his contract to get his first year hit down in the $3M-$4M range.      

 

2) Knox is not a stiff.  They are both great athletes......both large TE's and nearly identical in terms of speed and quickness measurements.  Njoku looks more impressive on the hoof but Knox has been more productive.    He drops too many passes but he's not as big of an overall enigma as Njoku.     Ultimately, they are both just players who seem to have a lot of upside but neither are finished yet........so trading Knox for a much more expensive and less productive version really doesn't add up, IMO.

[Logic]

Not sure if anyone has posted this yet. If not, I thought some might enjoy seeing it.

 

It shows that Hollister is an incredible athlete for the position, but undersized.

 

 

11 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

1) I don't think you understand how large that $6M cap number is for Njoku.    They can't spread that $6M out over two seasons like they did with Sanders.    And Njoku has zero reason to negotiate it down or spread it out.   It's guaranteed.   He will want to hit free agency next winter.   Unless you want to offer a guy who caught like 15 passes last year a long term $10M aav deal,   which is a crazy idea.    If the Bills were to get Ertz they would almost certainly extend his contract to get his first year hit down in the $3M-$4M range.      

 

2) Knox is not a stiff.  They are both great athletes......both large TE's and nearly identical in terms of speed and quickness measurements.  Njoku looks more impressive on the hoof but Knox has been more productive.    He drops too many passes but he's not as big of an overall enigma as Njoku.     Ultimately, they are both just players who seem to have a lot of upside but neither are finished yet........so trading Knox for a much more expensive and less productive version really doesn't add up, IMO.

Good post.

 

Serious question: why are there so many spaces and dot dot dots between your sentences?

[BADOLBILZ]

32 minutes ago, Boxcar said:

Sanders could be a sneaky good shiny toy, even if not expensive. Watch some videos of his route running, it's amazing. We probably have 3 of the top 5 route runners in the NFL.

 

 

The problem with the Bills WR corps,  as I see it,  is precisely what people call it's great strength........that they have 3 guys that excel in the same areas.......specifically snapping off short to intermediate routes.   Davis has more potential in contested situations down field but I'm not expecting him to be enough to change the way defenses attack the Bills.

 

What they have at WR x and 0 wise is a lot like having two RB's of the same speed and quickness that can't get to the edge.........it helps the defense gameplan and focus their energy on what works when knowing that they don't have to defend the entire field.   

 

Traditionally there are two ways to naturally free up your outside WR's so defenses don't squat on their routes:

 

1) Have one great deep ball WR that defenses fear enough to keep the safeties backed off.    Speed scares defenses.   Big and fast even more.

 

2) Or have a great seam stretching TE who can draw the safeties to the middle of the field.

 

Ideally you are like the Chiefs and have both.

 

If the Bills want to move the ball throwing it 8-12 yards in the air all day to 3 dudes who excel at that.........defenses will gladly take their chances with that as opposed to getting beaten over the top.

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by BADOLBILZ

[JGMcD2]

8 minutes ago, Logic said:

Not sure if anyone has posted this yet. If not, I thought some might enjoy seeing it.

 

It shows that Hollister is an incredible athlete for the position, but undersized.

 

 

Good post.

 

Serious question: why are there so many spaces and dot dot dots between your sentences?

I think @BADOLBILZlearned how to type on a typewriter... that was the old rule there. Double space after a period. 
 

The “...” or ellipses are like a comma... show a pause in speech or thought...  I use them a lot too haha 

 

I’ll add I agree with Badol on his last two posts. World might be coming to an end. 

Edited March 20, 2021 by JGMcD2

[BADOLBILZ]

5 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

I think @BADOLBILZlearned how to type on a typewriter... that was the old rule there. Double space after a period. 
 

The “...” or ellipses are like a comma... show a pause in speech or thought...  I use them a lot too haha 

 

I’ll add I agree with Badol on his last two posts. World might be coming to an end. 

 

 

Exactly on the punctuation and spacing.   I learned to keyboard on a computer but I also used manual and word processing typewriters some as well.   For people over 40 it's a lot more natural to read that spacing and the demographic here is heavy toward people over 40.

 

Most website articles nowadays have large fonts and lot's of spacing to make them less tiring to read.........that can be annoying having to physically scroll thru.

 

Here I assume people are keeping the type small and tight and just address the legibility and tenor of the thought in other ways.

 

I tend to use a lot of single sentence "paragraphs" too because there are a lot of people on here who see a condensed paragraph and think........nah, not sifting thru that.   Me being one of them.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

Dammit, Beane! Should've signed Abercrombie

[ColoradoBills]

I guess we will see what Hollister is all about during camp.

As to the Lee Smith replacement I don't think he is that.

Nate Becker has the size to be that and he has been with the Bills for 2 years now.

6'5" 264 is what he is listed at and adding a few more pounds could make him a perfect sized blocking TE.

I hope it works out that way.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

This guy is 10 times the athlete Lee is, he’s just another athletic TE for the mix. 
 

Here’s to a 65 catch season!

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

The problem with the Bills WR corps,  as I see it,  is precisely what people call it's great strength........that they have 3 guys that excel in the same areas.......specifically snapping off short to intermediate routes.   Davis has more potential in contested situations down field but I'm not expecting him to be enough to change the way defenses attack the Bills.

 

What they have at WR x and 0 wise is a lot like having two RB's of the same speed and quickness that can't get to the edge.........it helps the defense gameplan and focus their energy on what works when knowing that they don't have to defend the entire field.   

 

Traditionally there are two ways to naturally free up your outside WR's so defenses don't squat on their routes:

 

1) Have one great deep ball WR that defenses fear enough to keep the safeties backed off.    Speed scares defenses.   Big and fast even more.

 

2) Or have a great seam stretching TE who can draw the safeties to the middle of the field.

 

Ideally you are like the Chiefs and have both.

 

If the Bills want to move the ball throwing it 8-12 yards in the air all day to 3 dudes who excel at that.........defenses will gladly take their chances with that as opposed to getting beaten over the top.

 

 

 

 

The difference is that all 3: Diggs, Sanders, and Davis have plenty of speed to threaten teams deep.  All three have shown an ability to run every route in the tree and they all have more than enough speed to get behind a secondary.  
 

Last year with Brown - the Bills had 1 speed guy in Brown, 1 route runner in Diggs, and a rookie in Davis that was forced more into the John Brown role due to injuries.

 

What the threesome of Diggs, Davis, and Sanders gives you - is the ability to totally mix and match routes throughout the entire defense - across layers.  Diggs and Sanders can both play outside or in the slot.  Davis can flip to either outside receiver.  That means the Bills can force teams to dictate double coverage and give Josh easy reads.  
 

We also know Diggs and Sanders can both run precision routes out of both the slot or the outside and either can get deep to draw coverage - opening areas underneath.  
 

So yes they lose some speed, but I think they have 3 guys that can now threaten the defense and mix and match routes to coverages.  Plus Beasley is slippery underneath and to come back to the thread - Hollister gives them the H back presence to block and slip out.  They used that with Knox, but he was not that comfortable and his blocking was suspect at times because he was thinking about the route.

 

I think the offense as set now can be significantly better than last years in terms of control and getting open.  I don’t know if they will score more, but I think they can be the type of offense to dominate teams because they can roll more weapons than you can cover.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

The difference is that all 3: Diggs, Sanders, and Davis have plenty of speed to threaten teams deep.  All three have shown an ability to run every route in the tree and they all have more than enough speed to get behind a secondary.  
 

Last year with Brown - the Bills had 1 speed guy in Brown, 1 route runner in Diggs, and a rookie in Davis that was forced more into the John Brown role due to injuries.

 

What the threesome of Diggs, Davis, and Sanders gives you - is the ability to totally mix and match routes throughout the entire defense - across layers.  Diggs and Sanders can both play outside or in the slot.  Davis can flip to either outside receiver.  That means the Bills can force teams to dictate double coverage and give Josh easy reads.  
 

We also know Diggs and Sanders can both run precision routes out of both the slot or the outside and either can get deep to draw coverage - opening areas underneath.  
 

So yes they lose some speed, but I think they have 3 guys that can now threaten the defense and mix and match routes to coverages.  Plus Beasley is slippery underneath and to come back to the thread - Hollister gives them the H back presence to block and slip out.  They used that with Knox, but he was not that comfortable and his blocking was suspect at times because he was thinking about the route.

 

I think the offense as set now can be significantly better than last years in terms of control and getting open.  I don’t know if they will score more, but I think they can be the type of offense to dominate teams because they can roll more weapons than you can cover.

 

I disagree with your first sentence:

 

Diggs has the speed to get deep occasionally......he was a 4.46 at the combine....... but he's not a 4.35 nine route runner..........it's not the kind of straight line speed that is going to make defenses play off and away from his strength which is working short to intermediate routes.

 

Sanders and Beasley have at best average long speed for their spots and limited YAC ability(and are going to be a year older at an age when that might matter).

 

Beasley definitely isn't going to be a field stretcher.......he has NEVER threatened teams deep.

 

Sanders basically just caught the ball and fell down or was immediately tackled in New Orleans last year.    People want to excuse the lack of big plays because of Brees but when he got the ball in his hands he didn't show the juice he used to have in getting away.  

 

I'm not saying they won't be good........but it's a concern.    Remember,  this offense was all new to the NFL last year.   In the playoffs their receivers did not have much success and it hurt them not having the speed to make the Chiefs play more conservatively on defense.     Beane indicated as much after the season.

 

The reason they say building a WR corps is like building a basketball team is because you want to make sure you have different skill sets.   The Bills WR corps seems to have a lot of duplication.  

 

 

[Success]

A few days in, I think we might feel better if the OP title was "Bills sign TE Jacob Hollister!!!!!!"

 

Food for thought for next time.

 

[Boxcar]

8 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

The problem with the Bills WR corps,  as I see it,  is precisely what people call it's great strength........that they have 3 guys that excel in the same areas.......specifically snapping off short to intermediate routes.   Davis has more potential in contested situations down field but I'm not expecting him to be enough to change the way defenses attack the Bills.

 

What they have at WR x and 0 wise is a lot like having two RB's of the same speed and quickness that can't get to the edge.........it helps the defense gameplan and focus their energy on what works when knowing that they don't have to defend the entire field.   

 

Traditionally there are two ways to naturally free up your outside WR's so defenses don't squat on their routes:

 

1) Have one great deep ball WR that defenses fear enough to keep the safeties backed off.    Speed scares defenses.   Big and fast even more.

 

2) Or have a great seam stretching TE who can draw the safeties to the middle of the field.

 

Ideally you are like the Chiefs and have both.

 

If the Bills want to move the ball throwing it 8-12 yards in the air all day to 3 dudes who excel at that.........defenses will gladly take their chances with that as opposed to getting beaten over the top.

 

 

 

You're totally right. Beasley, Diggs and Sanders all do exactly the same thing. We should have got a fast guy who sucks at running routes, like John Ross. I can't remember Diggs or Davis catching any deep passes.

[Norcalbillsfan]

On 3/19/2021 at 12:00 PM, CincyBillsFan said:

 

I think this guy nails it.  I jumped to the conclusion that he was a kroft replacement but this might be more about improving the running game.  Especially the H-back stuff.  And for the record Hollister is a much better receiver then Smith was.  I've seen him make some great catches over the years.

 

 

Not too mention he helps the run game for little cap space. And he's definitely gonna buy into the culture in buffalo