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Can someone explain the Tyler Kroft love to me?


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He had 14 targets this season and 6 catches. 
How much production do you want from 14 targets? Can’t expect him to do

much in the pass game if they don’t throw it to him. Is he ALWAYS covered or just blocking? 
I don’t care either way if he stays or goes but it’s silly to say how bad he sucks if he’s not exactly playing or getting the ball thrown his way. 

Edited by Rc2catch
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6 hours ago, Poleshifter said:

Did you see the article about Knox, saying he can't wait to get started training for next season? It's very encouraging. He plans to train with Josh.

 

I'm excited to see Knox's development!

 

Sweeney, too, but Knox is a special talent.

 

 

I didn’t see the article - got a link?

 

I did see his post-season presser, which was pretty amusing for meta-reasons.  He said he needs to focus on “eye discipline”, that he plans to train with Josh, and actually that he had trained with Josh a bit last year before the draft!!!

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11 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

He had 14 targets this season and 6 catches. 
How much production do you want from 14 targets? Can’t expect him to do

much in the pass game if they don’t throw it to him. Is he ALWAYS covered or just blocking? 
I don’t care either way if he stays or goes but it’s silly to say how bad he sucks if he’s not exactly playing or getting the ball thrown his way. 

 

Kroft saw his playing time drop from 40-50% immediately after he came back, to <30%.  26% in Houston loss.

 

I don’t know how many of those targets were catchable balls, but 6/14 is not good.

5 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Haha, who loves Kroft? Terrible signing.  Luckily, we have some promising young TEs.

 

According to Sal Capaccio, our coaches evidently.

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The tough thing about evaluating TE's when you're a fan is that we're ignorant of a big part of their game.  We focus on the catches & drops but without access to game film or how a play is supposed to be blocked we're in the dark about the total package a TE brings to the table.  We all want to see Kelsey but in this offense that may not even be possible based on the scheme.

 

With respect to Kroft I suspect his blocking is quite good.  Ditto for Smith.  And given a full training camp & preseason to work with Allen his pass catching contribution should go up.

 

I get that it would be risky to stand pat at TE but of all the position groups on the offense this is the one I would take that risk on.  A fully healthy Kroft will contribute more next season in the passing game and I have two rookies who showed great promise.  It's reasonable to assume that Knox & Sweeny will be much better next year.  I can see the TE's getting better from this year to next year.  But NOTHING can be done to make Beasley 6 inches taller or knock 10 years off Gore. 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I'm pretty sure they'll cut him and go for a cheaper veteran.

IMHO if they cut him, the four guys going into training camp will be Smith, Knox, Sweeney, and Croom.  We should all remember how Beane came to sign Kroft.  Buffalo was a dumpster fire at tight end going into 2019.  Kroft was about the best free agent out there.  Beane paid a reasonably high price to insure that there was at least one capable TE on the roster.  No one knew how Knox or Sweeney would work out going into the season.  Knowing what they know now, Beane has the option to keep him, trade him or cut him.  When Kroft was signed I would say it was more of a relief than love. Honestly, I don't see a huge difference between Sweeney, Knox and Kroft going into 2020, so why spend the money on him?  People that think Beane is going to get into the bidding war for Hooper and Henry need to understand that he isn't going to walk away from two promising 2019 draft picks after one season.  The team has more pressing needs that will require the expenditure of cap dollars.

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He's JAG. They probably thought they'd get a bit more out of him and have him mentor Knox and Sweeney (which I'm sure he does), but he got a bum foot so he was a bum all season. Except that time he caught a touchdown against the Steelers. 

 

But yeah, as others have said, I don't think there's a huge love-fest going on for the guy. He could be alright, definitely serviceable. Just depends on him staying healthy. 

 

Next season is Rambo's year, though.

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Seeing as they have their 2 TE's they got in last years draft & they have Croom coming back i would use him to get more draft capital from a team like the Fins or another tea in need of decent players & use the money they save towards another FA vet or to sign their own .

 

I hate that that Kroft was dealt the cards he was this year but just from what we saw while he was out with the 2 young guys then having Smith as the vet in the room i hope they move on & give him the chance to be some where else & develop what they have in house for the future !! 

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I'm not sure where the OP is seeing the overall "love" for Kroft here.  I think I'm in the majority here with an overwhelming sense of apathy towards him, at best.  If he could stay healthy and ball out, I'd want him to stay.  But we have Knox now so I'm like...meh.

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11 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

I see people assuming we’ll keep him and that we’re kind of set at TE.

 

I’d like to understand the Tyler Kroft love - what do people see in him that’s promising?

 

He kind of had an uninspiring college career at Rutgers.  He backed up Tyler Eifert with the Bengals, did some good stuff in 2017 after Eifert got hurt, then broke his own foot in 2018 and again in 2019 off-season.

 

So he kind of had one good year in 2017.  When given a chance to “show out” this season, he’s seeemd decidedly “meh” to me.

 

What am I missing?  Explain the Kroft love to me.

His name is Tyler, and people are confused about which Tyler he is. 

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11 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Why not? All 3 of our young TES have shown promise, don't forget Croom. There is no reason to spend a lot at TE. Develop your own. 

 

Knox had a very good year by rookie TE standards. He reminds me a lot of young George Kittle. 

 

 

 

 

I agree Knox had a good rookie year.  His numbers compare favorably to Kittle, Rudolph, etc's rookie years.  That said, I would spend to bring in a guy like Hooper or Henry.  The mismatch potential with Knox and Hooper/Henry is insane.  And TE's are a young QB's friend.  That also gives Allen another "big" receiver. 

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2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Kroft saw his playing time drop from 40-50% immediately after he came back, to <30%.  26% in Houston loss.

 

I don’t know how many of those targets were catchable balls, but 6/14 is not good.

 

I can understand both sides of things. I don’t take issue with most of the talk only the select few who just say “he sucks get rid of him” 

He served his purpose for the most part and they liked what Knox was doing as a receiver so they didn’t need to use kroft ( that can be debated on the short 3rd and shorts Gore was continuously stuffed on) 


I think it would be wise to at least hold onto Kroft until preseason at minimum cause he does have some trade value if teams like the bears are injury stricken again or maybe Olsen in Carolina retires and they need more depth etc etc 

Worst case scenario we get an injury and at least he’s there if needed. 
His salary really doesn’t hurt the ability to sign anyone or limit what the team can do financially. 
 

Lee smith having a job next year is more concerning to me than Kroft, Sweeney’s blocking cannot be that much worse than smiths when you factor in the penalties and then bump his receiver value as well. 
I could be wrong but I was under the impression at draft Sweeney was a heck of a blocker and not much in the receiving game. But maybe I’m mistaken it’s been awhile since I paid attention to him 

Edited by Rc2catch
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3 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

This ridiculous organizational loyalty for certain underperforming players is getting tired. Belichick recognizes a bad player Immediately and cuts him. We do just the opposite. 

Well, he still has the ghost of Tom Brady playing QB over there. 

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12 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Why not? All 3 of our young TES have shown promise, don't forget Croom. There is no reason to spend a lot at TE. Develop your own. 

 

Knox had a very good year by rookie TE standards. He reminds me a lot of young George Kittle. 

 

 

 


his blocking is awful, hopefully he focuses on that and the drops this offseason.

 

Sweeney seems promising also. 
 

Croom... meh

 

Kroft- about the same as croom to me

58 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

I can understand both sides of things. I don’t take issue with most of the talk only the select few who just say “he sucks get rid of him” 

He served his purpose for the most part and they liked what Knox was doing as a receiver so they didn’t need to use kroft ( that can be debated on the short 3rd and shorts Gore was continuously stuffed on) 


I think it would be wise to at least hold onto Kroft until preseason at minimum cause he does have some trade value if teams like the bears are injury stricken again or maybe Olsen in Carolina retires and they need more depth etc etc 

Worst case scenario we get an injury and at least he’s there if needed. 
His salary really doesn’t hurt the ability to sign anyone or limit what the team can do financially. 
 

Lee smith having a job next year is more concerning to me than Kroft, Sweeney’s blocking cannot be that much worse than smiths when you factor in the penalties and then bump his receiver value as well. 
I could be wrong but I was under the impression at draft Sweeney was a heck of a blocker and not much in the receiving game. But maybe I’m mistaken it’s been awhile since I paid attention to him 


something mentioned about Sweeney Around the draft was he has quick hands and makes tough catches.

 

Cowher liked him as I recall. 
 

hoping he makes the jump in year 2. 

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I too get the sense that the coaching staff is less bothered by Kroft's presence than we are. The emergence of Knox helped to cushion the blow that Kroft's disappointing season provided. I have a feeling that he will be given another year in the system, given the injury situation early on. Also, he did sign a relatively hefty contract last season with a signing bonus -- so the cap ramifications for cutting him may actually outweigh the cost (at least in cap terms of keeping him in 2020). I know our cap situation is strong -- but still...

 

Lee Smith has to be the goner. That should open the way for more playing time for Sweeney -- and vacate a roster spot for another TE. I do not expect that spot to be filled by someone like Hooper or Henry though. More likely another journeyman or mid-round draft prospect.

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