Buffalo Bills: Is Tommy Tremble the answer at tight end?
It appears general manager Brandon Beane is ready to make some changes at the tight end position for the Buffalo Bills. He mentioned during his end of the season press conference that the tight ends were up and down and the team didn’t really have a player who forced defenses to gameplan for them.
This offseason, the Bills do still have Dawson Knox but with Tyler Kroft being a free agent and Lee Smith potentially retiring, the front office should pay close attention to this position in free agency and the NFL Draft.
One player who may be able to surpass Knox as the top receiving tight end but also be a replacement for the run blocking that Lee Smith brings is Notre Dame tight end Tommy Tremble. According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Bills have met or will meet virtually with Tremble.
Tremble played two seasons with the Fighting Irish but only had 35 receptions, 401 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The scouting report on The Draft Network sounds eerily familiar to what Dawson Knox had when he was a draft prospect two years ago in being a player with all the physical tools but lacking in production. Kyle Crabbs wrote about Tremble:
"Tremble is a plus athlete who offers the long speed and agility to be dynamic as a pass-catcher, but his production to this point has yet to make the leap that you’d want to see to feel confident that he’s going to develop into an upper-level tight end at some point."
The reason the Bills may feel a little more confident in drafting Tremble is the blocking, which is excellent. He certainly isn’t afraid of contact like on this play against the University of Virginia where he is the lead blocker coming out of the backfield and drives the defender well over 10 yards down the field.
As the roster becomes deeper and more talented, it is important for the Buffalo Bills to find players that can fill multiple roles and a tight end like Tommy Tremble could be that complete tight end that does it all from being a threat in the passing game to run blocking.