[positional grouping] Bills Tight Ends

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

There are several good tight ends to be had in the draft.

 

 

1. DALTON KINCAID, UTAH

BIG BOARD RANK: 25

You'd like him to be a little bigger to make defenses respect him as a blocker, but he's the best receiving tight end in the class.

2. MICHAEL MAYER, NOTRE DAME

BIG BOARD RANK: 28

Mayer is one of the highest-floor players in the draft. You know you're getting a complete, productive tight end at the next level. However, can he separate enough to be a true difference-maker?

3. LUKE MUSGRAVE, OREGON STATE

BIG BOARD RANK: 33

Musgrave has the goods. He just doesn't have the refinement. The good thing is he can still contribute due to his tools while developing into a more complete pass-catcher.

4. SAM LAPORTA, IOWA

BIG BOARD RANK: 57

LaPorta has the tools to be a difference-maker at the position. That's who you want to take chances on at the position.

5. DARNELL WASHINGTON, GEORGIA

BIG BOARD RANK: 72

Washington may be more of a luxury piece than a necessity at tight end, but if you have a specific role for him in your offense, you won't find anyone better.

6. TUCKER KRAFT, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

BIG BOARD RANK: 101

7. JOSH WHYLE, CINCINNATI 

BIG BOARD RANK: 177

8. LUKE SCHOONMAKER, MICHIGAN 

BIG BOARD RANK: 178

9. WILL MALLORY, MIAMI (FL)

BIG BOARD RANK: 197

10. MCCALLAN CASTLES, UC DAVIS

BIG BOARD RANK: 206

[Spartacus]

4 hours ago, B-Man said:

 

 

 

 

There are several good tight ends to be had in the draft.

 

 

1. DALTON KINCAID, UTAH

BIG BOARD RANK: 25

You'd like him to be a little bigger to make defenses respect him as a blocker, but he's the best receiving tight end in the class.

2. MICHAEL MAYER, NOTRE DAME

BIG BOARD RANK: 28

Mayer is one of the highest-floor players in the draft. You know you're getting a complete, productive tight end at the next level. However, can he separate enough to be a true difference-maker?

3. LUKE MUSGRAVE, OREGON STATE

BIG BOARD RANK: 33

Musgrave has the goods. He just doesn't have the refinement. The good thing is he can still contribute due to his tools while developing into a more complete pass-catcher.

4. SAM LAPORTA, IOWA

BIG BOARD RANK: 57

LaPorta has the tools to be a difference-maker at the position. That's who you want to take chances on at the position.

5. DARNELL WASHINGTON, GEORGIA

BIG BOARD RANK: 72

Washington may be more of a luxury piece than a necessity at tight end, but if you have a specific role for him in your offense, you won't find anyone better.

6. TUCKER KRAFT, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

BIG BOARD RANK: 101

7. JOSH WHYLE, CINCINNATI 

BIG BOARD RANK: 177

8. LUKE SCHOONMAKER, MICHIGAN 

BIG BOARD RANK: 178

9. WILL MALLORY, MIAMI (FL)

BIG BOARD RANK: 197

10. MCCALLAN CASTLES, UC DAVIS

BIG BOARD RANK: 206

Forces Bills to replace a liability with someone with upside

[Ann]

Is Knox worth the salary?

 

 

[Rochesterny]

Maybe I’m missing something here. TE and WR should lower list of needs for the bills right now IMO. Knox just got paid need to give him the opportunity. But, he need to kick it in gear and work on his hands a little and start working more in the middle to bring safeties up which will help WR out. In my opinion the offensive line, running back, and another pass rusher are top of my list. There is  need to establish a stronger o-line with big bruising back to give Allen time and alleviate burden of running on Allen to do it himself. Another area bills need to improve from last year is stopping the run and getting more pressure. Just my opinion

Edited April 2, 2023 by Rochesterny

[Ann]

39 minutes ago, Rochesterny said:

Maybe I’m missing something here. TE and WR should lower list of needs for the bills right now IMO. Knox just got paid need to give him the opportunity. But, he need to kick it in gear and work on his hands a little and start working more in the middle to bring safeties up which will help WR out. In my opinion the offensive line, running back, and another pass rusher are top of my list. There is  need to establish a stronger o-line with big bruising back to give Allen time and alleviate burden of running on Allen to do it himself. Another area bills need to improve from last year is stopping the run and getting more pressure. Just my opinion

This is supposed to be a great TE draft, meh WR draft. Don’t be surprised if the Bills take a TE.

[Rochesterny]

4 hours ago, Ann said:

This is supposed to be a great TE draft, meh WR draft. Don’t be surprised if the Bills take a TE.

That maybe true but looking at the bills roster and the upcoming schedule. As well what area needed to get the team over the hump. Those in my mind are offensive line, running back, another dominant pass rusher. To be honest should bills take a tight end that would be disappointing for me to see in my view. But, that is just me. 

[Alaska Darin]

16 hours ago, Rochesterny said:

That maybe true but looking at the bills roster and the upcoming schedule. As well what area needed to get the team over the hump. Those in my mind are offensive line, running back, another dominant pass rusher. To be honest should bills take a tight end that would be disappointing for me to see in my view. But, that is just me. 

Watching Kelce completely destroy other team's defenses (especially in the RZ) makes me wanna add another serious threat at TE.  I would love to see a lot of 21 personnel with 2 quality TE receiving threats because the possibilities for usage in both the pass and run game are virtually endless.

 

I will be stunned if the BILLS don't take one in this draft, especially given how thin the position is now that Sweeney is gone to NYG.

[Rochesterny]

3 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Watching Kelce completely destroy other team's defenses (especially in the RZ) makes me wanna add another serious threat at TE.  I would love to see a lot of 21 personnel with 2 quality TE receiving threats because the possibilities for usage in both the pass and run game are virtually endless.

 

I will be stunned if the BILLS don't take one in this draft, especially given how thin the position is now that Sweeney is gone to NYG.

You raise some very good points. But, my point is don’t think 1st round pick should be used for tight end when there are more pressing key area to address. Just my opinion. 

[Jabba The Hutt]

4 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Watching Kelce completely destroy other team's defenses (especially in the RZ) makes me wanna add another serious threat at TE.  I would love to see a lot of 21 personnel with 2 quality TE receiving threats because the possibilities for usage in both the pass and run game are virtually endless.

 

I will be stunned if the BILLS don't take one in this draft, especially given how thin the position is now that Sweeney is gone to NYG.

Hockenson would have been perfect

[Spartacus]

7 minutes ago, Jabba The Hutt said:

Hockenson would have been perfect

He doesn't block.

knox already is 2nd best target 

just need to actively scheme him plays as 1st read many more times

 

[Spartacus]

Kraft and Schoonmaker are likely targets

 

 

https://buffalofambase.com/2023/02/24/elimination-game-tes-in-the-2023-nfl-draft/

 

Big Board, which you can use to simulate mock drafts right here on FanSpeak.

Final Sort, TEs. Credit: Dean Kindig, BuffaloFAMBase.com.

Let me say a word about the finalists, and a fun fact about each.

 

Michael Mayer is the #1 TE, no argument here. Last year, he led the team with 71 receptions, and put up 67 more in 2022 with a middle-of-the-road quarterback. He’s 1″ shorter than OJ Howard, my comp, who was drafted #19 in 2017 by the Bucs and played briefly for the Bills. I don’t think we see him at pick #27, because he’s just that good. He’s #11-12 on the FanSpeak big boards. Fun fact: Mayer’s alma mater is Notre Dame, same as Lake Dawson, the Bills’ Assistant Director of College Scouting.

 

Dalton Kincaid – Are you ready for the Dalton and Dawson Show? Of the 63 TEs I listened to in interviews, Kincaid’s the personality that struck me as the best fit for the Bills. His toolkit –acceleration, body control, fluid movement– is much like Dawson’s, and his catch rate over his career was better than Mayer’s. Fun Facts: Kincaid will be the first Utah TE to be drafted in 27 years (1996, Harold Lusk, RD7, Saints). He was recently identified as one of the most underrated prospects in the 2023 draft class by Pro Football Focus. When asked who in the world he’d want a one-hour phone call with, he said Phil Mikelson. That’ll sit well with Josh. Kincaid’s also a big movie buff, so yeah.

 

Darnell Washington – Washington has a different toolkit. He is a monster –2″ taller and 25 pounds heavier than Kincaid. He’s an amazing blocker; he might have been a top-rated OT had he played on the line instead. If he were a little better at catching the ball, the TE choice would be a slam dunk, particularly in supporting the run game. Jake Rigdon, FanSpeak Jake, is even more vocal about Washington: “He’s got stone hands. He’ll only average around 15 receptions per year, but he’ll start for 10-plus years for a two-TE team that uses him as a sixth offensive lineman, a la what Georgia does with him.” Fun Fact: Washington grew up poor in a single-parent home, his father having deserted Darnell and his brother Ezekiel when they were 6 and 7. Darnell’s brother taught him footwork and technique using YouTube.

 

Tucker Kraft – Dallas Goedert vibes. His stats are meager: 23 games, 13 of them starting, 72 catches for 863 yds, only 13 receptions in 2022 due to injury. He’s my hero in that he revealed FBS Boosters Used Huge NIL Deals To Entice Him To Transfer. Kraft doesn’t have the FBS pedigree, or the publicity, or any credentialed visits by Bills scouts. But he’s from a winning program, is a soft-handed, physical receiver, and has NFL speed (watch him finish right behind Mayer 1-2 at the Combine). He needs some work on his blocking, but I’m nitpicking. Fun Fact: Two quotes: “I believe that the most physical and tactical part of the game revolves around the trenches,” and “I enjoy the monotony of the little things.” He and Kincaid had the best interviews of the TE group.

 

Luke Schoonmaker – The Bills will be taking a Michigan Wolverine; we don’t know who. Brandon Beane went to Michigan twice, taking Midwest Area Scout Brian Fisher one of the times. Scouts went to 4 games. Maybe it’s Schoonmaker. Talk about versatility. Schoonmaker mixes speed and power well. He’s a dangerous receiver and a powerful blocker. He returned to school for 2022 and set career-highs in both receptions (35) and receiving yards (418). I wouldn’t be surprised if he had the widest wingspan for TEs at the Combine. Fun Fact: In high school, Schoonmaker was on the baseball team, and on the football team, playing quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, and cornerback.

J

Josh Whyle – “WHY-lee” didn’t get any credentialed scout visits, but did last year. He’s a very good blocker and an ace special teams player. In one Bills-scouted game in 2021, he tipped a punt against UCF. Whyle only caught 1 pass for 2 yards in the first scouted game, but went off for 5 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown in the next scouted game. Fun Fact: Whyle was a national high-jump champion in high school, so watch for that at the Combine.

 

 

[Spartacus]

https://sports.yahoo.com/chris-simms-2023-nfl-draft-183934914.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3J1bXMuZm9vdGJhbGxndXlzLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAG6mWtWom3kcZV1r0XoU5AtLSWaMqPVmphi8xXvTReA-bOfqYQ9k9luy9wT7V73v00y3IMxqaGBeoKNdJ3hTjqvbkUyQLzPfKbMLaKz9C9rPmnZbjO2mbnDb3O4DyDTXFgKYTN2whb5NG6Jj8Tv_PhN4M0L8rhxYtbHD86nduykQ

 

No. 5: Darnell Washington, Georgia

What Simms said: “If there’s gonna be a Gronk in this class, it’s gonna be this guy. You gotta put it together a little bit and all that. But first off, he’s a monster. I mean, a monster. Second off, he’s an insane blocker. You want to compare a blocker to Gronk, we’ve got a guy. If he’s at the line of scrimmage, he’s like having another tackle in the football game … He kind of likes smashing people. And if you’re smaller, he really likes to let you know you’re smaller.”

[Uncle Joe]

6 hours ago, Spartacus said:

No. 5: Darnell Washington, Georgia

What Simms said: “If there’s gonna be a Gronk in this class, it’s gonna be this guy. You gotta put it together a little bit and all that. But first off, he’s a monster. I mean, a monster. Second off, he’s an insane blocker. You want to compare a blocker to Gronk, we’ve got a guy. If he’s at the line of scrimmage, he’s like having another tackle in the football game … He kind of likes smashing people. And if you’re smaller, he really likes to let you know you’re smaller.”

 Putting him next to Spencer might be fun.
|
 

[Fansince88]

On 4/11/2023 at 8:59 AM, Spartacus said:

https://sports.yahoo.com/chris-simms-2023-nfl-draft-183934914.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3J1bXMuZm9vdGJhbGxndXlzLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAG6mWtWom3kcZV1r0XoU5AtLSWaMqPVmphi8xXvTReA-bOfqYQ9k9luy9wT7V73v00y3IMxqaGBeoKNdJ3hTjqvbkUyQLzPfKbMLaKz9C9rPmnZbjO2mbnDb3O4DyDTXFgKYTN2whb5NG6Jj8Tv_PhN4M0L8rhxYtbHD86nduykQ

 

No. 5: Darnell Washington, Georgia

What Simms said: “If there’s gonna be a Gronk in this class, it’s gonna be this guy. You gotta put it together a little bit and all that. But first off, he’s a monster. I mean, a monster. Second off, he’s an insane blocker. You want to compare a blocker to Gronk, we’ve got a guy. If he’s at the line of scrimmage, he’s like having another tackle in the football game … He kind of likes smashing people. And if you’re smaller, he really likes to let you know you’re smaller.”

Guy is huge. 

 

[CarpetCrawler]

3 hours ago, Fansince88 said:

Guy is huge. 

 

 

Angry catches, angry runs, even angry blocking. Hands so big it looks like he's holding a toy football....what's not to like.

[Nanker]

Josh would be charged with murder every week if he had Darnell as a weapon. 
 

 

[Nanker]

Washington reminds me a little of another Tight End we had that became our starting Left Tackle. But Washington is a more athletic TE than Peters would was. 

[Alaska Darin]

16 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

Angry catches, angry runs, even angry blocking. Hands so big it looks like he's holding a toy football....what's not to like.

He has terrible hands but if he catches the ball moving...people will die.

[Spartacus]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

He has terrible hands but if he catches the ball moving...people will die.

that's what a juggs machine is for

 

until he masters the catch on the run, he can block so Knox can be featured as the pass catcher

he will add more to the passing game than drafting a midget

[SquirminThurman]

On 4/2/2023 at 7:56 PM, Rochesterny said:

Maybe I’m missing something here. TE and WR should lower list of needs for the bills right now IMO. Knox just got paid need to give him the opportunity. But, he need to kick it in gear and work on his hands a little and start working more in the middle to bring safeties up which will help WR out. In my opinion the offensive line, running back, and another pass rusher are top of my list. There is  need to establish a stronger o-line with big bruising back to give Allen time and alleviate burden of running on Allen to do it himself. Another area bills need to improve from last year is stopping the run and getting more pressure. Just my opinion

Agree on TE, but it's a really good TE draft.

 

As for WR - Diggs is over 30 and Davis is an unrestricted FA next year. Since it take a WR a year or two to adjust I think its wise to see what is there. I am not convinced Harty is anything more than an injury prone McKenzie as a WR (better returner), and Sherfield's catch % is almost as bad as Davis, which is the big stink for a lot of people. Sherfield is also on just a 1 year contract.