Why didn’t the Bills add a tight end in 2022 NFL Draft?
The Buffalo Bills may have two talented tight ends on their roster and a pair of developmental prospects, but fast forward to 2023 and the cupboard is virtually bare. They could have addressed that mid-term need at the position while upgrading over their depth options in the 2022 NFL Draft but didn’t pull the trigger. General manager Brandon Beane addressed the tight end group following the conclusion of the picks and said it was simply about value.
“I think if we had the fourth-round [pick], we would have had some questions on whether it was [Khalil] Shakir there or tight ends. I think Shakir was a little bit higher,” said Beane at his press conference on April 30.
Shakir ended up being the pick in the top of the fifth round after a trade up. Buffalo didn’t have a fourth-round selection because they used it to trade up in the first round to select Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam.
“It felt like the tight ends started coming off today [on Day 3]. We had some interest but didn’t try and force it or reach,” added Beane.
The first tight end wasn’t taken until pick 55 in the second round with three more taken in the third round. Beane was right about the run; starting with the top pick of Day 3, four more tight ends were off the board before pick 130 when the Bills would have picked as part of six fourth-round tight ends select.
Right after the Bills picked Shakir at 148, another tight end was drafted at 149 as three tight ends went in the fifth round, four tight ends in the sixth round, and one more in the seventh round.
Beane did say that the Bills had several draftable players still on their board after the seventh round, and they would have potentially liked more picked in the sixth and seventh rounds because of the depth of the draft class. To that end, the Bills have reportedly signed an undrafted tight end. Jalen Wydermyer from Texas A&M was a Top 30 pre-draft visitor and is going to be with the Bills when they open rookie minicamp next week, per reports. You’d have to think he has the best shot of any UDFA to actually make the 53-man roster based on the depth at the position.
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