A list of potential TEs that can be had if the Bills don’t land Olsen.

[TigerJ]

To be honest, I'm not feeling the need to go out and get a shiny  new tight end.  If one falls into Buffalo's lap and he can be signed to a reasonable contract, fine, but I think we're going to see significant improvement from Dawson Knox, and I think Sweeney can be a solid contributor as well.  Kroft? I'm not as certain, but not ruling out more from him.  The only one I really think is kind of a waste is Lee Smith.  I get the "locker room value" and all that, but he was a clear liability on the field.  He came with a reputation as a great blocker at the tight end position, but he spent the whole season as the next penalty waiting to happen at the most inopportune time, both false starts and blocking penalties (holding, illegal use of hands, whatever).  To be honest, I'd try Nate Becker as my blocking tight end before I'd want Lee Smith back.

[Tipster19]

On 2/14/2020 at 10:30 PM, BillsCuse said:

OJ Howard or even Cameron Brate being available from the Bucs makes sense.  They both had a lot of upside, but Arians doesn't target his TE's much.  He doesn't have a huge need to keep both of them.  Howard has a year left on his rookie deal with the 5th year option.  And Brate has 4 years left at around 6.5 Million per year (But no dead $ left at all on any remaing years).  Both contracts are very manageable and might be worth taking a shot with for a mid-round pick or so.

Great take. When it comes to TEs one usually thinks New England but they have been pretty quiet about this position, especially when Gronk retired. Maybe they’re waiting for a value TE like Brate, it wouldn’t surprise me if they end up with him.

[LABILLBACKER]

On 2/14/2020 at 8:04 PM, Sherlock Holmes said:

Stinks that Hunter and Eifert are oft injured because they have the ability to be elite...

 

Would be nice to get Henry and have him stay healthy and explode

Hunter Henry is the best of this group and should be the target.  Not a fan of Olsen signing.  Too old. Henry at 25 to go with Knox and Sweeney would be beyond perfect.  Add a couple young wrs and booyah. Whatever money you'd give to Olsen put toward HH.....

Edited February 16, 2020 by LABILLBACKER

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

So were going to overpay or trade assets away to a position where we have a nice young player in Knox who actually looked pretty darn good right out of the gate? This is usually not the case with the TE position as it can be very complex as a rookie. He looked pretty darn good to me, I'd much rather just continue developing both Sweeney and Knox instead of burying him on the depth chart to some bum like OJ Howard or an oft injured Hunter Henry. If we go after anyone at the position I think Cameron Brate is a super under rated TE, he would be the only one I'd spend the money on but that's just my opinion.

[Buffalo86]

3 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Hunter Henry is the best of this group and should be the target.  Not a fan of Olsen signing.  Too old.

 

Agreed.  

 

TL/DR version:  Hunter Henry would be my top offseason priority.  Option 2 would be to trade a 5th for Cameron Brate..  Option 3 would be to sign Vance McDonald for 2 years / $12M.

 

Long version:

 

A healthy Hunter Henry has top 5 TE potential and could instantly become the most dangerous weapon in our passing game.  If we're a few players away, I say he's one of them.

 

Austin Hooper is a solid player, but not close to Henry's level.  He's been healthier, but if you're williing to excuse the entire 2018 season that Henry lost to injury (with the reasoning that it could happen to anyone), then Hooper has only played 2 games more than Henry.

 

David Njoku & OJ Howard both have potential, but would cost a pick.  Njoku could possibly be had for a 3rd.  Arians probably wouldn't give up Howard for less than a 2nd, if only to torment him for another year.  Both would be cheap contracts this season, with a potential 5th year option.  We have the money, so that shouldn't be the deciding factor.  Also, this regime's track record in the 3rd is Harrison Phillips, Devin Singletary, and yes, TE Dawson Knox.  Therefore, I don't think I'd be giving up the pick.

 

Never much cared for Ebron's game.  He's a sub-par blocker, and a sub-60% passer throwing to a sub-60% receiver isn't a recipe for success.

 

Cameron Brate for a 5th could be a worthy consolation prize if we can't get Henry.  I like his game better than Hooper's, and he's on the hook for a very manageable 4 years / $26.8M.  

 

Jacob Hollister strikes me as just above JAG status.  

 

I'm somewhat intrigued by Vance McDonald, who's a decent blocker and has looked like a monster at times in the passing game.  I've also wondered why it was so sporadic (injuries have played a part), and why his TE coach so emphatically stated that McDonald wouldn't be the Steelers' full-time starting TE prior to last season.  Say what you will about the Steelers (I don't like them), but they seem to guess right more often than most teams when it comes to utilizing & retaining their personnel.   Still...

 

Young Tyler Eifert was a beast when healthy, but that wasn't very often.  Now he's a shell of his former, rarely healthy, self.

 

As for Olsen, 1) I don't mind having the position coaches mentor the players, and 2) enough with the former Panthers already.

Edited February 16, 2020 by Buffalo86

[Doc Brown]

Our pursuit of Olsen makes me think it's unlikely we go after any of these guys as they pry expect Knox to develop into a premier TE.  Giving a short term contract to a veteran that can help mentor young players and still produce on the field fits McBean's MO (K. Williams, Alexander, Gore). 

 

It's more likely we give a big contract to a premier guard or tackle to beef up the o-line than any of the players listed above.  

[Pbomb]

18 hours ago, MJS said:

Why stop there? Let's just trade for Kelce and Kittle.s

Cause he was talking about ones that are or might actually be available. 

13 hours ago, row_33 said:

Who introduced the concept of a TE to these Bills? Been three decades since they bothered with the position 

 

 

Signed clay to a big deal, drafted Knox in the 3rd round. They are atleast trying 

[whorlnut]

OP, you make it sound so simple. Just because we “might” want a certain TE doesn’t mean we can get them. There has to be interest on both sides and in some cases, the player you mention is already under contract with another team. Not so easy...

[machine gun kelly]

I seriously doubt Arians is letting Howard go as he is one a few weapons that makes Tampa’s offense dangerous if they had a QB who didn’t throw 30 picks in one year.  That is why Tampa is looking at Rivers, Dalton, etc.  Hooper to me is the best pick and that article yeasterday was interesting on 6 possible cuts, where if they cut Kroft, Murphy, and Smith, they save this years a little over $15 mil.  That is easily more than enough for Hooper and another player.

[wppete]

Send Tampa Bay a 5th round pick for OJ Howard. 

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

2 hours ago, wppete said:

Send Tampa Bay a 5th round pick for OJ Howard. 

 

They'd never let him go for a 5th. This is a former #1 pick who can play like a #1 pick, just hasn't been in the right offense with the right QB. He may not even be on the block.  The good thing is that we know for certain the Bills are placing a priority on upgrading the position. 

My dream scenario would be:
#1 Hooper
#2 Henry
#3 Olsen
All because no trade and cap space.  I'd rather not trade and lose assets because FA's #1-2 are already better choices. Get Olsen healthy and limit his snaps and he could also contribute. 

 

[MJS]

4 hours ago, Pbomb said:

Cause he was talking about ones that are or might actually be available.

Not when he's talking about trading for good TE's. There's no reason to believe any of those trades are possible.

[Pbomb]

12 minutes ago, MJS said:

Not when he's talking about trading for good TE's. There's no reason to believe any of those trades are possible.

I recall hearing plenty of talk and rumors of howard and njoku being traded around the trade deadline but now it’s not possible? Everyone else is a free agent 

[MJS]

2 minutes ago, Pbomb said:

I recall hearing plenty of talk and rumors of howard and njoku being traded around the trade deadline but now it’s not possible? Everyone else is a free agent 

More speculation from fans.

[Sherlock Holmes]

12 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Hunter Henry is the best of this group and should be the target.  Not a fan of Olsen signing.  Too old. Henry at 25 to go with Knox and Sweeney would be beyond perfect.  Add a couple young wrs and booyah. Whatever money you'd give to Olsen put toward HH.....

Agreed, if olsen can coach then bring him in but Hunter should be the target. If we could add Kupp we would be set, if we just go for it and grab McCaffrey (Ricky Williams like trade even) we would win the Super Bowl

[MassHog]

On 2/14/2020 at 10:29 PM, Jumpsuit Jim said:

...and why would the Bills want to land Olsen? Anybody on that list is preferable to Olsen at this stage of his game. Kroft and Sweeney have more upside than Olsen right now. 

My guess would be veteran leadership/mentorship of the young tight ends. Also, Olsen (even at this point of his career) is clutch. Dude just makes plays, doesnt drop balls. 

[dayman]

Why do we want a TE? I feel like we have 3 guys that can play already

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, dayman said:

Why do we want a TE? I feel like we have 3 guys that can play already

“Can play”.

 

Why not strive for more?  We can do better than “3 guys that can play.....haven’t done jack ****”

[Iamkrgr]

We're really counting on Dawson Knox to develop further if we're signing Olsen. Would be a solid vet signing and probably help Knox quite a bit. 

 

For all the people saying to spend on Austin Hooper i think we have a similar one in Knox. Roughly same size, 3rd rounders. Knox had more receiving yards in his rookie year albeit with a far worse catch%. Though having Matt Ryan throw to you in your rookie season might help a bit. 

 

How much does Hooper cost in FA? How about Olsen? 

[Buffalo86]

7 minutes ago, Iamkrgr said:

We're really counting on Dawson Knox to develop further if we're signing Olsen. Would be a solid vet signing and probably help Knox quite a bit. 

 

For all the people saying to spend on Austin Hooper i think we have a similar one in Knox. Roughly same size, 3rd rounders. Knox had more receiving yards in his rookie year albeit with a far worse catch%. Though having Matt Ryan throw to you in your rookie season might help a bit. 

 

How much does Hooper cost in FA? How about Olsen? 

 

Hooper & Henry are both expected to fetch somewhere in the vicinity of $10M/yr.  With the current 3 team bidding war, Olsen will probably get something in the $7M/yr range.