With the way that the Buffalo Bills run their defense, a matchup against tight ends can either be a dream or a nightmare. The Bills run a 4-2-5 defense which means that they have just two linebackers out on the field and prepare for the pass at any time. With this kind of setup, it’s important for the Bills to have linebackers who can help in pass coverage.
Since 2017, the Bills have had the pleasure of having Matt Milano on defense as one of his best strengths throughout his career was pass coverage. One matchup that really made Milano stand out as one of the best pass coverage linebackers early on in his career was against former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The Bills have been able to find linebackers who can help in pass coverage over the years, including Tremaine Edmunds and now Terrel Bernard. They just recently signed Shaq Thompson who was a fantastic coverage linebacker when he was with Sean McDermott in Carolina.
The season is less than three months from now and the Bills don’t exactly have the worst matchups against tight ends based on the teams they are playing. However, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t overlook these five tight ends they will see this coming season.
Ranking best 5 tight ends Bills will face in 2025
5.) Cade Otton - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 11
Cade Otton is a very underrated tight end in the NFL. In a Tampa Bay offense that has Mike Evans as the main go-to wide receiver, Otton still manages to find a way to make an impact in the passing game. He had career highs in 2024 with targets, receptions, and yards. Now even though Evans and Chris Godwin are back in Tampa and Bucky Irving has emerged as a valuable weapon out of the backfield, Otton can still do some damage if he’s overlooked.
4.) Jonnu Smith - Miami Dolphins, Weeks 3 & 10
The Miami Dolphins have more questions than answers heading into this season. However, tight end Jonnu Smith is a very underrated tight end who had a great year in Miami last season. He had a career high 884 yards and 8 touchdowns, off of 111 targets for 88 catches. He was one of Tua Tagovailoa’s favorite targets and if he remains in Miami for 2025, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be a number one option for Tua again.
3.) David Njoku - Cleveland Browns, Week 16
Even though David Njoku missed time last season, he still managed to get into the endzone five times and had over 500 yards with arguably the worst quarterback situation in the league. He’s a tight end who can play like a receiver and can be a go-to target for whoever is behind center this season.
2.) Mark Andrews - Baltimore Ravens, Week 1
Ah, yes. The guy basically helped the Bills get into the AFC championship game because he dropped the ball on a two-point conversion that would have tied the Bills late in the 4th quarter. While that’s what he was mainly known for in the playoffs, Mark Andrews still had just under 700 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024.
With how the Ravens have developed their passing attack in recent memory (despite signing Derrick Henry), Andrews is Lamar Jackson’s best friend in the passing attack and coming out of the gate at Week 1, the Bills could be in for a big challenge.
1.) Travis Kelce - Kansas City Chiefs, Week 9
While Travis Kelce has regressed the last couple of seasons, he has still punished the Bills’ defense every year even if it is just picking up crucial third down catches to move the chains. As long as he is still in Kansas City, he will always be a nightmare matchup for the Bills whether it’s in the regular season or the playoffs.