The Buffalo Bills have yet to announce their undrafted free agent signings but one player that is reportedly heading to Western New York is tight end Jalen Wydermyer. He was a player that Buffalo showed a great deal of interest in ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft and brought in for a visit, according to Aaron Wilson with Pro Football Network.
The tight end position is one that could see some changes over the next year with no tight end under contract past this season. Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney are in the final year of their rookie contracts after the Bills drafted them in the 2019 NFL Draft in the third and seventh round respectively.
The Bills also signed free agent O.J. Howard this offseason but it was only for a one-year deal. Jalen Wydermyer is a player that could factor into the position long-term but also may have a chance to make an impact this season.
Could Jalen Wydermyer make the Buffalo Bills roster this year?
Recently, The 33rd Team put together a list of one undrafted free agent who has the best chance to make the roster this year with their team. For the Bills, they selected the tight end out of Texas A&M.
"For much of the draft process, Wydermyer was viewed as a draftable player, who would be selected as early as day two in the draft. However, at his pro day, he did not test very well, which likely caused many teams to remove his name from their draft boards. However, Wydermyer has prototypical TE size, is just 21 years old, and is a skilled receiver. With depth openings behind Dawson Knox and newly signed OJ Howard, Wydermyer has a good chance to stay if he performs well."
Wydermyer certainly has potential and he did seem like a player the Buffalo Bills could draft in the later rounds, particularly on Day 3. He is pretty athletic and his strength certainly is in the passing game as a receiver.
The question, and ultimately will dictate if Wydermyer has a chance to make the roster, is how many tight ends the Buffalo Bills want to keep on their 53-man roster. Last year, they only kept two with Knox and Sweeney while Reggie Gilliam served as that third tight end on the depth chart.
This year, if Buffalo continues that trend those spots would probably go to Knox and Howard. However, if the team does keep three they may elect to go with Wydermyer over Tommy Sweeney due to the potential he has and the role he might play moving forward.
The training camp battle for that third tight end spot will be one worth monitoring and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Jalen Wydermyer were to win that battle.