Austin Hooper, FA to be. Would ya?

[Virgil]

Tight End in Atlanta whose gotten better every year.  Big performer and about to be an unrestricted free agent.  Falcons have big salary cap issues. 
 

I know we have Knox and just signed Kroft, but this guy is big, fast, and has hands.  He can pull down high point passes and would be a legit end zone threat.  He lines up at receiver a lot. 
 

I’d love to see us cut Kroft and go after him.   He’d be highly utilized in Daboll’s offense and I think he could be a go to guy for Allen that would draw attention from everyone else.  
 

I’d as much want him as a big bodied number one.  Brown, Beasley; Hooper, Singletary, and Knox on the field all at once sounds pretty good to me.  
 

He’s gonna cost money, but probably only 4-5 mil more than Kroft.  That’s a worthy upgrade to me. 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Virgil

[Canadian Bills Fan]

If it made cap sense, I wouldn't mind cutting Kroft and making a run at Hooper

 

Don't know how much of a cap hit it would be to cut Kroft after 1 year

[Logic]

I like Hooper, but I think Knox/Kroft/Sweeney will be the tight end depth chart for the next few years. Don't count out Jason Croom, who is on IR but who will fight for a roster spot as a flex tight end this coming offseason.

[jwhit34]

Per Spotrac Kroft dead cap in '20 is $1.6 million. If they could upgrade with Hooper that would be worth it, he's really good.

 

Kroft contract is a good example of Beane/front office structuring contracts in a prudent way. His base salary next year is $4.5M but had only a limited amount in guarantees thus only $1.6M in dead cap if released. 

 

Hooper, Knox, Brown, Beasley and either FA WR or 1st round WR pick plus Singletary out of backfield - now you've got weapons. 

[peterpan]

Knox has made some big plays, but he's had a high number of drops too.  We need someone more consistent at TE 1.  Plus I love the idea of multiple stud TEs.  

 

OJ Howard is another guy whom seems under utilized and could be had.  Maybe via trade if he's not a FA yet.  It's possible bc TB will likely be looking for a QB.

[RoyBatty is alive]

No, we have enough in TEs already, interested to see how Sweeney and Knox progress.  Know is a real talent but his hands are a bit concerning.

Edited December 3, 2019 by RoyBatty is alive

[Just Joshin']

Not a high priority.  Would target DL, OL and WR ahead of TE with our $.  The way to cap jail is to load up on duplicate players unless he is a true difference maker.  While improved, is he elite?

[whatdrought]

I wouldn't hate Hooper or Hunter Henry. Henry is injury prone, but might be cheaper. 

 

Another random FA name to look out for is Shaq Thompson, LB from Carolina. If Lorax retires, he might fit in as our Strong Side Backer. 

[Rc2catch]

It doesn’t matter what tight end you bring in. Our tight end production is not because of talent or inability to get open it’s simply Allen doesn’t look for them often or Daboll does not have them as part of the passing game plan. Knox and even Kroft can have waaaaaaay better stats they just are not targeted much. Neither is probably as good of a pass catcher as hooper but it does no good to spend huge money on the same production you’re already getting. Hooper is going to get top 10 tight end money which means 8-10 million a season, he’s not signing some super friendly team deal to join buffalo like Kroft did. Atlanta has been terrible for two years, horrid defense and losing most of their games, so since Matt Ryan has to throw 40+ times a game and they have Julio and Ridley outside I would expect Hooper to gobble up open targets. I know buffalo can afford it I just don’t see the point. Jordan Phillips is going to get paid, maybe shaq, gonna extend some young guys coming off rookie deals. 

[Virgil]

3 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

I wouldn't hate Hooper or Hunter Henry. Henry is injury prone, but might be cheaper. 

 

Another random FA name to look out for is Shaq Thompson, LB from Carolina. If Lorax retires, he might fit in as our Strong Side Backer. 

I want both. 

 

Then the draft is DE, WR, and depth.  This team is a mismatch and setup 

2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

It doesn’t matter what tight end you bring in. Our tight end production is not because of talent or inability to get open it’s simply Allen doesn’t look for them often or Daboll does not have them as part of the passing game plan. Knox and even Kroft can have waaaaaaay better stats they just are not targeted much. Neither is probably as good of a pass catcher as hooper but it does no good to spend huge money on the same production you’re already getting. Hooper is going to get top 10 tight end money which means 8-10 million a season, he’s not signing some super friendly team deal to join buffalo like Kroft did. Atlanta has been terrible for two years, horrid defense and losing most of their games, so since Matt Ryan has to throw 40+ times a game and they have Julio and Ridley outside I would expect Hooper to gobble up open targets. I know buffalo can afford it I just don’t see the point. Jordan Phillips is going to get paid, maybe shaq, gonna extend some young guys coming off rookie deals. 

I would gladly pay Hooper 8-10 a year.  Put the money from cutting Kroft towards him. 
 

i disagree on Allen not looking towards them 

[thenorthremembers]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

I want both. 

 

Then the draft is DE, WR, and depth.  This team is a mismatch and setup 

I would gladly pay Hooper 8-10 a year.  Put the money from cutting Kroft towards him. 
 

i disagree on Allen not looking towards them 

I cant see paying a tight end 8-10 Million dollars a year when you have Knox.     I agree Kroft probably needs to go, and I agree we probably need to add another decent tight end, but Id rather have them go get someone like Jack Doyle for a bit less money.  

[John from Riverside]

Im actually liking Knox and Sweeney

 

We need a big fast wr that can catch

[Rc2catch]

10 minutes ago, Virgil said:

i disagree on Allen not looking towards them 

 
I took a peak just to be sure, Hooper is already over 70 targets this season. Knox is under 40. I didn’t look at Kroft cause there’s no way he’s been targeted much. 
Hoopers lowest targets per game was 5, which is knoxs best almost at 6. 

Hooper by himself is targeted more in Atlanta than all of our tight ends combined here. Add in the fact Matt Ryan cannot run and HAS to get the ball out in less than 5 seconds or it’s an auto sack plus they have a bad o line and zero running game. Allen did not target tight ends last year, and not much this year, either that’s him or Daboll I do not know. Allen spreads the ball around even when someone is hot. He does not force feed targets 

[BBills88]

we still have Croom

[Virgil]

2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

 
I took a peak just to be sure, Hooper is already over 70 targets this season. Knox is under 40. I didn’t look at Kroft cause there’s no way he’s been targeted much. 
Hoopers lowest targets per game was 5, which is knoxs best almost at 6. 

Hooper by himself is targeted more in Atlanta than all of our tight ends combined here. Add in the fact Matt Ryan cannot run and HAS to get the ball out in less than 5 seconds or it’s an auto sack plus they have a bad o line and zero running game. Allen did not target tight ends last year, and not much this year, either that’s him or Daboll I do not know. Allen spreads the ball around even when someone is hot. He does not force feed targets 

I think this speaks more to Hoopers talent and mismatch than QBs looking to him.  He’s a genuine mismatch and almost Gronk like.  
 

He’s that level of TE talent to me.  He’s arguable the best in the league, young, and getting better.  
 

I think he would demand targets and defensive attention 

Just now, BBills88 said:

we still have Croom

I really think you are underestimating Hooper 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

Tight End in Atlanta whose gotten better every year.  Big performer and about to be an unrestricted free agent.  Falcons have big salary cap issues. 
 

I know we have Knox and just signed Kroft, but this guy is big, fast, and has hands.  He can pull down high point passes and would be a legit end zone threat.  He lines up at receiver a lot. 
 

I’d love to see us cut Kroft and go after him.   He’d be highly utilized in Daboll’s offense and I think he could be a go to guy for Allen that would draw attention from everyone else.  
 

I’d as much want him as a big bodied number one.  Brown, Beasley; Hooper, Singletary, and Knox on the field all at once sounds pretty good to me.  
 

He’s gonna cost money, but probably only 4-5 mil more than Kroft.  That’s a worthy upgrade to me. 

I have always liked Hooper. I also feel like having a 2 TE formation in a hurry up offense is where you get the most mismatches. With a good TE like Hooper and a soon to be good TE like Knox on the field at the same time teams won’t know what to do. 

 

I would actually prefer having 2 fast WR’s that are good route runners with good hands with two eliteTE’s always on the field. 

 

After watching Hernandez and Gronk make DC’s heads explode it’s a easy call for me. 

[BBills88]

2 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I think this speaks more to Hoopers talent and mismatch than QBs looking to him.  He’s a genuine mismatch and almost Gronk like.  
 

He’s that level of TE talent to me.  He’s arguable the best in the league, young, and getting better.  
 

I think he would demand targets and defensive attention 

I really think you are underestimating Hooper 

The more good weapons the better for our team.

[SCBills]

I like this idea on the surface, but with Knox looking like our TE1 of the future, I don't know that this is the financial move unless we simply have $$$ to throw around.

 

Up-Tempo 11 Personnel looks to be our identity on Offense.   Probably doesn't make a ton of sense to sign a FA TE, when we're only  needing one of Kroft/Sweeney/Croom to be a TE2.

 

I'd spend in FA on keeping this OL together and continuing to solidify this defense as a top 5 unit.

 

Draft WR/RB/EDGE in Rounds 1-3.

 

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by SCBills

[Virgil]

I apologize for the music, but just a sample.  Comparing him to anyone on our roster is insane to me.  Knox could get there, but having two of them....my god. 
 

 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

1 minute ago, BBills88 said:

we still have Croom

Don’t ever say his name again. This is the guy who will fumble the ball or whiffs on a block that gets Allen injured. Croom has horrid football awareness, route running and is a horrid blocker. I don’t trust his hands either.