“It was never where I felt the opposing defense was like, man, we got to stop their tight ends from going off.
“At the end of the day we’d love to have a guy like we just faced in Kansas City (Travis Kelce). They don’t come very often, but that’s what you want.”
Those two quotes may have resonated as much as, if not more, than anything else Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in his end-of-season Zoom conference call with the media back on Jan. 27. They were as candid as you’ll usually get from any team’s general manager about a specific position, but also gave some great insight into what he and his staff may be thinking as the team heads into the offseason.
Tight end could very well be a position the Bills target either during free agency or by way of trade.
Here are some potential targets via both avenues (age listed is at the start of the 2021 season).
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS:
Hunter Henry - 26 - Los Angeles Chargers
Amongst all NFL tight ends over the past two seasons, Henry ranks sixth in yards with 1,265, and seventh in receptions with 115. He’s also caught nine touchdown passes during that time frame.
Henry burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2016 with 478 yards and eight touchdowns, then followed it up with an excellent sophomore campaign of 45 catches for 579 yards. He missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL, but is almost three full years removed from that injury, and his production suggests he’s completely recovered.
He did miss four games in 2019 with a knee injury, but has played almost every game since, except for going on the COVID-19 list at the tail-end of last season for a pair of contests.
The Chargers placed the franchise tag on Henry a year ago. They could do so again, but it would be much more expensive this time around.
Jonnu Smith - 26 - Tennessee Titans
Smith hasn’t been the high-volume producer others at the position have been since entering the league in 2017, but that’s partly due to the fact that he’s played in such a run-heavy offense. The Titans are one of only three NFL teams to run the ball more than they’ve passed over the past three seasons.
That said, Smith’s production has increased every year, going from 18 to 20 to 35 to 41 catches, with over 400 yards in each of the past two seasons. He saw his highest totals last year with 41 catches for 448 yards and eight touchdowns.
Despite having the 22nd-most targets amongst tight ends over the last two years (109), Smith is tied for the sixth-most touchdown receptions with 11. Tennessee used Smith on screens and short passes to get the ball in his hands where he really excelled, and found his way to the end zone.
Smith and Henry figure to be the most sought after tight ends on the free agent market, so his price could climb pretty high, especially if Henry gets tagged again and becomes unavailable. The Titans aren't expected to tag Smith, but it's always possibility.
Gerald Everett - 27 - Los Angeles Rams
Everett is extremely similar to Smith in the fact that his production has gone up every year he’s been in the league.
Starting from his rookie year in 2017, his receptions went from 16 to 33 to 37 to 41. His receiving yards also climbed each season, topping out at 417 this past year.
Also like Smith, Everett wasn’t a big focal point of the Rams offense. Last year alone, the Rams had two different wide receivers with at least 124 targets, and another with 81. Everett wasn’t even on the field as much as fellow-tight end Tyler Higbee, who saw close to 73% of the snaps while Everett was below 57%.
However, Everett is athletic and can move around the offense. The Rams love to use a lot of motion, including with their tight ends.
The question a team like the Bills needs to answer on Everett is if that production will take a dramatic jump if he sees the field a lot more.
Jared Cook - 34 - New Orleans Saints
At this point of his career, Cook would most likely be a one-year player, but the Bills may want to bring someone in just for a season for an immediate upgrade while they buy some time to figure it out long-term.
Cook has been remarkably consistent throughout his career, with 11-straight seasons of at least 29 catches and at least 361 yards. Last year, he still caught 37 passes for 504 yards and seven touchdowns.
He’s just two seasons removed from catching 68 passes for 896 yards while with the Oakland Raiders, and since turning 30-years-old, over the past four seasons, Cook has the fourth-most receiving yards (2,793) and eighth-most catches (202) amongst all tight ends, twice being selected to the pro bowl in that time.
Dan Arnold - 26 - Arizona Cardinals
Arnold had been with the Saints for a little over a year to start his career, where he played sparingly. Then he saw a dramatic spike in production with the Cardinals after seeing the field a lot more.
Although the Cardinals led the league in running 10-personnel (4 wide receivers, no tight ends) - the only team who did it more often than the Bills - Arnold was still on the field for 41% of their offensive snaps, catching 31 passes for 438 yards last season. In fact, Arnold was the only tight end in the entire league with at least 25 catches who averaged over 14 yards per-reception (14.13).
At an impressive 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Arnold could be a hidden gem who just started to show last year what he could do when given an opportunity.
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RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS:
Mo Alie-Cox - 27 - Indianapolis Colts
It remains to be seen what the Colts will actually do with Alie-Cox, who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent.
They may decide to tender him an original-round qualifying offer, costing most likely around $2 million, according to OverTheCap’s latest projections. In that case, they would not receive any compensation if another team were to sign him and the Colts refused to match.
Indianapolis could also give him a second round tender, which according to OTC should come in at around $3.3 million, or a first round tender, at about $4.8 million. In both those scenarios the Colts would receive that particular draft pick in compensation, but that could also be too rich for them to pay a player with little experience at the position.
So assuming it’s the original round tender, that could be enticing for a team like the Bills, who see a lot of potential in a player who entered the league in 2018 after playing college basketball at VCU.
Alie-Cox hadn’t even played organized football since his freshman year of high school. After being used sparingly in the passing game his first two years in Indianapolis, Alie-Cox caught 31 passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns last season, averaging 12.7 yards per-reception, seventh-most amongst all tight ends with at least 30 catches. Among that group, he also had an outstanding catch rate of 79.5%, second only to the Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan.
This is a player to, at least, monitor how his current team handles the situation and then think about if he would make sense for the Bills to take a swing on his potential.
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TRADE:
David Njoku - 25 - Cleveland Browns
Njoku was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, then appeared on the verge of becoming something special after grabbing 56 balls for 639 yards his sophomore campaign of 2018. However, a wrist injury early in 2019 forced him to miss 12 games that season.
The Browns hired Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach last offseason, who is known to incorporate tight ends quite a bit in his offensive scheme. Then they not only signed Austin Hooper, but also drafted Harrison Bryant in the fourth round. Despite that, the Browns still exercised Njoku’s fifth-year option for 2021.
Both Hooper and Bryant were on the field more than Njoku last season, and by quite a bit. They both saw over 55% of the snaps compared to Njoku’s less than 34%. Njoku wasn’t very productive, catching only 19 passes for 213 yards and a pair of scores.
He is scheduled to make just over $6 million in base salary this coming season, which is what any trading team would have to pay him and count on their salary cap absent a new deal. For the Browns, that seems like a hefty price to pay for, essentially, their third tight end.
But for another team, Njoku may just need a change of scenery and fresh start.
Evan Engram - 27 - New York Giants
Engram is in the exact same situation as Njoku when it comes to contract. He was a first round pick in 2017 who had his fifth-year option picked up for this coming season, scheduled to make just over $6 million.
However, he’s been far more productive than Njoku through his four NFL seasons, collecting the fifth-most receiving yards (2,420) for any tight end over that time, behind only Kelce, George Kittle, Zach Ertz, and Cook, as well as the sixth-most receptions (216).
So why would the Giants want to trade him?
Injuries and drops have been his biggest concerns. Engram's missed 14 games over the last four seasons, and according to Pro Football Reference, was charged with 11 dropped passes last season, second-most in the league. Engram has a 60.7% catch rate since entering the NFL, the second-lowest for any tight end with at least 75 catches over that time.
Ironically, the only tight end with a worse rate is Njoku at 59.9%.
Engram did play 16 games last year and was even voted to the Pro Bowl after catching 63 passes for 654 yards. He was the Giants' clear No. 1 tight end last year, on the field for over 78% of their offensive snaps and leading the entire team with 109 targets. But it seems to be a love/hate relationship that they’ll have to make a decision on soon.
He’s exactly the kind of athletic, pass-catching tight end the Bills need, but the team would have to hope he stays healthy and is able to hold on to the ball more often.
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