The Jimmy Graham Effect

Jan 4, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) carries the ball during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2013 NFC wild card playoff football game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills are in need of a couple of players at a couple of different spots.  One of these spots that we have looked at strictly through the draft is that of the tight end position.  Scott Chandler is set to become a free agent and most fans would like to see the Bills get a more dominate tight end to help out Manuel.  Don’t get me wrong, Chandler could be dominate when he wanted to be with his 6’7 frame especially in the red zone, but what we, as Bills fans, are looking for is not a ‘when I want to be’ or ‘when I can be’ dominate tight end, we want a Gronkowski, Gonzalez, Graham or a Vernon Davis type dominate that draws people to cover him and the tight end is actually taken into account by the defense.

Looking at the possible draftees for tight end, provides the Bills with a couple of options.  But, if Doug Marrone and the Buffalo Bills can look to fill some holes with players that are ready to step in and play through free agency, then it leaves the draft to secure other positions that could provide depth.  One area would be the offensive line. With such a deep offensive line draft, the Bills could look to secure a couple of good linemen to add depth as well as possibly start on the line this coming season.

There are 35 tight end free agents that are right now available for the grabbing.  There are still 42 days before free agency, I know this, which also means that this list could dwindle as well.  But, the biggest name on the list is Jimmy Graham.  Even if the Saints and Graham can’t come to terms, I think that they will do what the Bills did with Byrd and franchise tag him.  Which coincidentally will not make Graham a very happy camper.  But what if Graham is not tagged and does not sign with the Saints and tests free agency.  Are the Bills willing to make the leap with the financial backing to nab a guy like Graham.  They were able to get Mario Williams here and with some of the positives, the Bills made last year I don’t think that it would be too much of a stretch to throw some money at Graham and make the move to bring him in.  Graham would elevate this offense to another level and would only allow Manuel to have another viable option in the passing game.

If Graham is not available, of the 34 other tight ends on the list, there is really only one that I would take a look at, Alex Smith out of Cincinnati.  He would be the only other one that might spark interest to bring in and help this offense.  If these two guys are not available, Buffalo needs to retool through the draft and look at a guy like Sefarian-Jenkins and use free agency to maybe bring in a top level guard or tackle to help out the offensive line and go in that direction.