Are the Bills set at TE?

[Jerry Jabber]

Looks like McBeane is happy with Knox, Sweeney, Kroft, Smith and Croom. IMO, the TE position has been neglected for years. While I like the other offensive additions this offseason, I felt TE was a glaring hole. Yes, Knox flashed some potential, but he also had a lot of drops. Not saying Knox doesn’t have the ability to improve, but if the Bills are planning on Knox to be the #1 TE, then I think it’s a mistake. It would be nice if the Bills could get with the rest of the NFL and get one to two TE’s that have the potential for multiple 100+ yard games a season. If I’m wrong and Knox and Sweeney turn out to be diamonds in the rough for the Bills, then I will gladly eat some crow on this. 

Edited April 25, 2020 by Jerry Jabber

[Mark Vader]

yes

[DJB]

We cant draft an A+ prospect for every position each year.

 

We tried to add G Olsen sonwe aren't satisfied with the group.

 

Hopefully Knox takes a big step or we will likely be looking for a draft upgrade next year

[billsfan714]

Probably our weakest position, cant be strong everywhere, but I hope they address it in the draft next year.  Kroft is a waste of space and good money that could be used elsewhere.

Edited April 25, 2020 by billsfan714

[John from Riverside]

I say yes....

[r00tabaga]

Lee Smith is gone?

[Dablitzkrieg]

Just signed a guy UDFA, see the thread

[BaaadThingsMan]

Yes. Knox will emerge as a  breakout player

Edited April 25, 2020 by BaaadThingsMan

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Enjoy the draft already!

[Adam]

We will see what areas Knox improves in this year. It also will be interesting how much more room he has to work with, now that Diggs is out there

[FLFan]

27 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Looks like McBeane is happy with Knox, Sweeney, Kroft, Smith and Croom. IMO, the TE position has been neglected for years. While I like the other offensive additions this offseason, I felt TE was a glaring hole. Yes, Knox flashed some potential, but he also had a lot of drops. Not saying Knox doesn’t have the ability to improve, but if the Bills are planning on Knox to be the #1 TE, then I think it’s a mistake. It would be nice if the Bills could get with the rest of the NFL and get one to two TE’s that have the potential for multiple 100+ yard games a season. If I’m wrong and Knox and Sweeney turn out to be diamonds in the rough for the Bills, then I will gladly eat some crow on this. 

They added three tight ends last year.  Not sure that counts as neglected.  There were a couple of interesting prospects this year but none I would have rather had than the players they took in rounds 2 and 3 that were available to them at the time.  Any later than that, there was no one who would have been an upgrade to what they have.  

[LABILLBACKER]

Knox or bust....the rest of these guys are scrubs....next year we will target TE in FA or the draft. The Bills historically have never put a huge emphasis on TE's, so I hope Dawson Creek develops?

[NewEra]

Are we set?  Unfortunately, it looks like we are.

 

I hope we can add someone and cut smith and Kroft but it’s unlikely at this point

 

I’m ok with Knox and Sweeney, but we can use an upgrade imo.  Sweeney looked ok, then he couldn’t get on the field behind two less than stellar TEs in Kroft and Smith. If he can’t get on the field over them this year, I think we should trade him or cut him.  He isn’t that good if he can’t play over them

[Jerry Jabber]

7 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Knox or bust....the rest of these guys are scrubs....next year we will target TE in FA or the draft. The Bills historically have never put a huge emphasis on TE's, so I hope Dawson Creek develops?

Agreed. IMO, Allen needs a big TE that can get open down the middle and be a good red zone target.

[NewEra]

47 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Looks like McBeane is happy with Knox, Sweeney, Kroft, Smith and Croom. IMO, the TE position has been neglected for years. While I like the other offensive additions this offseason, I felt TE was a glaring hole. Yes, Knox flashed some potential, but he also had a lot of drops. Not saying Knox doesn’t have the ability to improve, but if the Bills are planning on Knox to be the #1 TE, then I think it’s a mistake. It would be nice if the Bills could get with the rest of the NFL and get one to two TE’s that have the potential for multiple 100+ yard games a season. If I’m wrong and Knox and Sweeney turn out to be diamonds in the rough for the Bills, then I will gladly eat some crow on this. 

The tight end position has been neglected since I’ve been a bills fan, Joe cribbs rookie year.

[Jerry Jabber]

8 minutes ago, NewEra said:

The tight end position has been neglected since I’ve been a bills fan, Joe cribbs rookie year.

Outside of Metzelaars, I have to agree. Been watching the Bills since the same time period (during the Chuck Knox era).

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, NewEra said:

The tight end position has been neglected since I’ve been a bills fan, Joe cribbs rookie year.

 

To be fair, they signed Kroft, and drafted two guys last year. I can’t say it’s “neglected”, but did they hit? Not sure yet. I still have high hopes for Knox, and we’ll see what the others offer. Too many needs to start over before we know what we have, IMO. 

 

You can’t do it ALL at once!

 

Hopefully better WR’s open more space for the TE’s to make plays.  

[Buffalo_Stampede]

1 hour ago, billsfan714 said:

Probably our weakest position, cant be strong everywhere, but I hope they address it in the draft next year.  Kroft is a waste of space and good money that could be used elsewhere.

How? TE IMO is the strongest it's ever been since I've been a Bills fan. Everyone is so focused on the drops but Knox is a legit TE prospect to develop. 

[BaaadThingsMan]

I also think Sweeney could emerge as a good one as well. He may surprise people this year

[Jerry Jabber]

4 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

How? TE IMO is the strongest it's ever been since I've been a Bills fan. Everyone is so focused on the drops but Knox is a legit TE prospect to develop. 

How many games did the Bills TE’s have 100+ yards receiving in last year, let alone the past twenty years? 

[RobbRiddick]

Knox had some key drops but he also made some great plays. I loved the guy as soon as he ran over those Bengals DBs and he made enough plays the rest of the year to make me think he'll show a big step up in his second year. 

 

When you consider they barely threw him the ball in college, I think he did pretty well and has the potential to be really good.

[NewEra]

15 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

To be fair, they signed Kroft, and drafted two guys last year. I can’t say it’s “neglected”, but did they hit? Not sure yet. I still have high hopes for Knox, and we’ll see what the others offer. Too many needs to start over before we know what we have, IMO. 

 

You can’t do it ALL at once!

 

Hopefully better WR’s open more space for the TE’s to make plays.  

The way I see it, we haven’t had a really good tight end in my lifetime as a bills fan, 40 years.  That = neglect as an organization. 
 

last year was the most attention we’ve ever shown the position in my lifetime.....and we currently don’t have one tight end we can count on.  
 

we hope Knox will be that guy.  We know what the other guys are for the most part.  Barely good enough to make the team

[y2zipper]

I expect to see a lot of 3WR 1TE sets, and in that sense Buffalo is probably set now with a good prospect in Knox, Kroft, Sweeney and Croom.

[Happy]

Between Knox and Sweeney, I hope so.  Smith is primarily a blocker and penalty flag generator, Croom is a boy toy.

[Jerry Jabber]

5 minutes ago, y2zipper said:

I expect to see a lot of 3WR 1TE sets, and in that sense Buffalo is probably set now with a good prospect in Knox, Kroft, Sweeney and Croom.

If the offense continues to sputter for another year, then it’s time to look for a new OC. 

[ColoradoBills]

12 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

How many games did the Bills TE’s have 100+ yards receiving in last year, let alone the past twenty years? 

 

11 total since 1960!

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1960&year_max=2019&season_start=1&season_end=-1&pos[]=TE&is_starter=E&game_type=R&team_id=buf&career_game_num_min=1&career_game_num_max=400&qb_start_num_min=1&qb_start_num_max=400&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&c1stat=rec_yds&c1comp=gt&c1val=100&c5val=1.0&order_by=game_date

[Buffalo_Stampede]

13 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

How many games did the Bills TE’s have 100+ yards receiving in last year, let alone the past twenty years? 

Huh? Is that how you determine if we have a talented TE?

[Jerry Jabber]

1 minute ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Huh? Is that how you determine if we have a talented TE?

That, how many receptions, how many drops,  touchdowns and blocking ability. Am I missing something? 

[nikuman]

19 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

How many games did the Bills TE’s have 100+ yards receiving in last year, let alone the past twenty years? 

 

Even the best TEs in the game average only 70-75 yds per game...

[Jerry Jabber]

4 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

11 total since 1960!

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1960&year_max=2019&season_start=1&season_end=-1&pos[]=TE&is_starter=E&game_type=R&team_id=buf&career_game_num_min=1&career_game_num_max=400&qb_start_num_min=1&qb_start_num_max=400&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&c1stat=rec_yds&c1comp=gt&c1val=100&c5val=1.0&order_by=game_date

Thanks! Only three since 1992, that’s sad.

Just now, nikuman said:

 

Even the best TEs in the game average only 70-75 yds per game...

And how many Bills TE’s over the past 20 years have averaged those numbers compared to the rest of the league?

[Ethan in Cleveland]

1 hour ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Looks like McBeane is happy with Knox, Sweeney, Kroft, Smith and Croom. IMO, the TE position has been neglected for years. While I like the other offensive additions this offseason, I felt TE was a glaring hole. Yes, Knox flashed some potential, but he also had a lot of drops. Not saying Knox doesn’t have the ability to improve, but if the Bills are planning on Knox to be the #1 TE, then I think it’s a mistake. It would be nice if the Bills could get with the rest of the NFL and get one to two TE’s that have the potential for multiple 100+ yard games a season. If I’m wrong and Knox and Sweeney turn out to be diamonds in the rough for the Bills, then I will gladly eat some crow on this. 

They signed a FA and drafted two TE's last year.  TE has been the worst position in Bills history with zero ProBowl nominations - ever.  But they added three new players last year and Knox looks like he can be great.  

[ColoradoBills]

2 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Thanks! Only three since 1992, that’s sad.

And how many Bills TE’s over the past 20 years have averaged those numbers compared to the rest of the league?

 

I'm just checking AFCE since inception.

 

Miami has 7.  NYJ have 25 and the Pats* have 63.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

4 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

That, how many receptions, how many drops,  touchdowns and blocking ability. Am I missing something? 

Knox is by far the most talented young TE we've had that I can remember. He has the potential to be what you want at TE. Many of the best TEs in history are mid round picks developed into stars. Knox seriously has that potential.

 

As far as stats go he had a decent rookie year, especially with how little we pass.

[nikuman]

3 minutes ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Thanks! Only three since 1992, that’s sad.

And how many Bills TE’s over the past 20 years have averaged those numbers compared to the rest of the league?

 

Hell, we barely have receivers reach that mark.  Difficult when 95% of your drives go Run-Run-Pass-Punt.

 

I know it isn't really 95%, but sure feels like it sometimes.

[BobbyC81]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

We will see what areas Knox improves in this year. It also will be interesting how much more room he has to work with, now that Diggs is out there

Another effect of the Coronavirus may be that the 2nd year players don’t have the jump in productivity that they normally do, because of reduced off season workouts.

[Augie]

19 minutes ago, NewEra said:

The way I see it, we haven’t had a really good tight end in my lifetime as a bills fan, 40 years.  That = neglect as an organization. 
 

last year was the most attention we’ve ever shown the position in my lifetime.....and we currently don’t have one tight end we can count on.  
 

we hope Knox will be that guy.  We know what the other guys are for the most part.  Barely good enough to make the team

 

I get that. I think McKeller and Riemersma were pretty good TE’s. Regardless, I try to never go back farther than the present owners. It’s just looking to make myself miserable, and I refuse to go there. The current regime has taken multiple shots at the TE position. I hope some of it works out. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, Jerry Jabber said:

Looks like McBeane is happy with Knox, Sweeney, Kroft, Smith and Croom. IMO, the TE position has been neglected for years. While I like the other offensive additions this offseason, I felt TE was a glaring hole. Yes, Knox flashed some potential, but he also had a lot of drops. Not saying Knox doesn’t have the ability to improve, but if the Bills are planning on Knox to be the #1 TE, then I think it’s a mistake. It would be nice if the Bills could get with the rest of the NFL and get one to two TE’s that have the potential for multiple 100+ yard games a season. If I’m wrong and Knox and Sweeney turn out to be diamonds in the rough for the Bills, then I will gladly eat some crow on this. 

 

They signed 4 TE's last year, I wouldn't call that neglected.

 

The one thing I do know if no one knows how good Know could be including you.

[Jerry Jabber]

2 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I'm just checking AFCE since inception.

 

Miami has 7.  NYJ have 25 and the Pats* have 63.

Thanks again! Not surprised by the Cheatriots numbers.

[artmalibu]

Did the Bills Pass on the  TE that is for sure better than what they have?

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

4 minutes ago, ColeB said:

Another effect of the Coronavirus may be that the 2nd year players don’t have the jump in productivity that they normally do, because of reduced off season workouts.

Hasn't really had too much affect yet on the NFL. It's likely to hurt rookies the most.