Charles Clay Shows Out Against Cleveland Browns

Nov 27, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Charles Clay (85) jumps to make a catch during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at New Era Field. Buffalo defeated Jacksonville 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Buffalo Bills’ tight end Charles Clay had a nice outing on Sunday vs. the Cleveland Browns, which should help ease Bills’ fans worried about his production.

Among the many disappointments for the Buffalo Bills this season has been tight end Charles Clay, who is in his second year with the team. In 2015, he was brought in to be a top tight end in this league, but hasn’t exactly produced as expected.

However, he was also one of the disappointments that came out to play on Sunday vs. the Browns. Although it comes a little late and something we wished we saw much earlier in the season, it shows hope for next season. It gives him and this team something to build off of.

Charles Clay finished the game with 7 catches for 72 yards and one touchdown vs. Cleveland. His 10.3 yards per catch were much better than we’ve seen from him and his longest catch of 19 yards came just inside the red zone for a TD — yes!

Even more astounding was the amount of times he was targeted because he brought in all 7 of his targets, showing improved chemistry with Tyrod Taylor.

Clay set season-highs in receptions, came two yards short of setting a season high in yards and tied season-highs in targets and touchdowns. Before this game, his season-highs were 5 catches (5 times), 7 targets (4 times), 73 yards and one TD.

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On the season, he has accumulated 46 receptions on 70 targets for 447 yards and 2 TD. In his two seasons with the team, he has totaled 90 receptions, 975 yards and just 5 TD through 26 games. He has been rather reliable, proving that he can play through injury pretty much all season long. It’ll be nice to see a healthy Charles Clay next season — don’t forget that.

There’s no doubt he played great vs. the Cleveland Browns.

However, it’s more important that he does the same thing these next two games vs. the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. If he can start to form some consistency with his play, he would be much more valuable to this team and what he did vs. the Browns was exactly what we need from him every week.

Playing against his former team next week should give him an extra boost, especially considering he only posted 2 catches for 29 yards in Week 7 vs. Miami. He will need a big outing to keep fans excited for next season.

It would also be nice to see Tyrod Taylor use a little bit more of everybody. His connections with Charles Clay should be automatic and saved for when needed — like third down conversions. With that, keep the defense guessing by targeting Watkins, Woods and Goodwin.

That’s what I’d like to see over these next two games — how can we work all of these receivers into our system. It’s a little late, but it would give us a better idea of what to look for this offseason and help us figure out ways to make this offense work next year.

Next: So Many Questions, So Few Answers for the Buffalo Bills

Do you think Charles Clay’s connection with Tyrod this week will help Taylor’s case to stay in Buffalo? Leave your comments below!

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