Jamal Turner – Toledo
Jamal Turner projects to be a seventh-round pick or undrafted free agent. The Bills have recently shown that they can have success with UDFAs, with Quintin Morris’ success last season. However, there are reasons to really like Turner and think that he has the potential to provide significant upside for a team that has reasonable early expectations.
Like Knox, his draft stock is limited due to lack of production in the passing game in college. At Toledo, Turner was used primarily as a blocking tight end, but his profile indicates that he could still develop into more.
At 6’6” and 255 pounds, Turner is not huge, but profiles as an athletic tight end who could create mismatches as a receiver. He has long arms and soft hands, so his lack of receiving production was more due to lack of opportunity than lack of talent.
At the NFL level, he profiles as a good blocking tight end, who could also be a red-zone target and release option. Given his current blocking ability, this makes him a very attractive target for a team looking for a second tight-end and someone with upside to develop as another pass-catching option especially in two tight end sets.
For a team like the Bills with limited draft capital, multiple needs and limited salary cap space and are looking to compete for a Super Bowl immediately, Turner is an ideal target late in the draft or as an undrafted free agent.