Buffalo Bills: Grading the TEs on the roster prior to the 2021 NFL Draft
While the Buffalo Bills passing game improved last year, the tight ends were often an afterthought and were one opposing defenses didn’t need to worry too much about. This past season Dawson Knox made some improvements but not enough to give the organization complete confidence that he could be the starter moving forward.
The Bills did make some changes with the addition of Jacob Hollister but this is a position the team will likely address in the NFL Draft. This is my grade for the tight end position looking at starters but also taking into account depth at the position.
Tight Ends on the Buffalo Bills Roster
- Nate Becker
- Reggie Gilliam
- Jacob Hollister
- Dawson Knox
- Tommy Sweeney
Position Grade: C-
As it stands right now, the success of the position is going to hinge largely on whether or not Dawson Knox can develop into that top tight end. He was drafted as a player that had all the physical attributes but needed time to develop. Knox didn’t necessarily get that and while there were some improvements, like his drop rate being cut in half from 20% as a rookie to 9.1% this past year, the team needs to add more talent here.
They started to do that with Jacob Hollister, who played the past two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, and gives them an experienced tight end to pair with Knox as a backup plan and a player who can compete for the starting job.
After Hollister is Tommy Sweeney, who looked good during his rookie season in 2018 and certainly could contribute to this offense. However, there is uncertainty about his availability moving forward after being diagnosed with a heart condition due to COVID-19.
The depth is very inexperienced after those three as Nate Becker has yet to play a regular season snap and Reggie Gilliam is still learning the position after switching from fullback to tight end in training camp last year.
Next. 4 players the Bills should trade up for in the first round. dark
When taking into account all the question marks, the tight end position is one that should be one of the Buffalo Bills top needs entering the NFL Draft.