Buffalo Bills: 5 players who could be the unsung heroes of 2021

Jacob Hollister

A former teammate of Josh Allen in Wyoming, Jacob Hollister comes to Buffalo after four seasons split between New England and Seattle. Hollister has been picked by many to take the backup tight end spot behind Dawson Knox that was left vacant after both Lee Smith and Tyler Kroft left Buffalo.

I would not go as far as saying Hollister is the backup, however. While the fans and front office have always expected much more from Dawson Knox than he delivers that should not mean he is a shoe-in for that number one role. Knox and Hollister have had very similar stats over the past two seasons (2019 and 2020 seasons)

• Hollister -> 66 receptions, 558 yards, 6 touchdowns, 3 drops, 888 snaps
• Knox -> 52 receptions, 676 yards, 5 touchdowns, 14 drops, 1133 snaps

As you can see, both players produced very similar stat lines. However, Hollister played a largely backup role in Seattle registering 250 fewer snaps than Knox. While you could argue from this point that Hollister may be a dark horse to start it is unlikely due to what standard Buffalo seems to hold Knox to.

While he may be the backup to Knox, Hollister can easily be an unsung hero in 2021 for Buffalo. The main reason for this is Hollister has registered most of his stats in just a select few games. While Knox is certainly not a model of consistency Hollister is not much better. But, as a backup, that could benefit Hollister. Add in the previous relationship he has will Allen and there could be a secret weapon in the Bills offense.

It is no secret the Brian Daboll is one of the most creative offensive minds in the NFL. He will likely use Hollister in a creative way that maximizes his touches. I would expect Hollister to have a couple of breakout games this season where he makes some big-time plays or scores some very important touchdowns.