The Buffalo Bills' tight end position has been a wasteland for the better part of 15 years - ever since Pete Metzelaars left to join the Carolina Panthers. Though the current crop of Bills tight ends is suspect at best, Buddy Nix and the Bills failed to address the need in April's draft.
The Bills passed on the top tight end in the draft at No. 34 when they let Kyle Rudolph stay on the board. Several other tight end prospects came and went while the Bills were on the board. Chan Gailey explained in his post-draft news conference why the Bills stood pat at the position.
"We talked several times about a tight end and it didn’t work out that when our pick came that the guys were sitting there that we had ended up talking about," said Gailey. "We weren’t going to try to force a round peg in square hole. We took the best player up there that fit some kind of need for us."
Instead, the Bills are sticking with their current crop of tight ends that did little a year ago. Late-season acquisition Scott Chandler, who Nix helped draft in San Diego in 2007, fits the blocking mold Gailey has preferred in his time in Buffalo, and his upside will get him a shot to start at the very least. David Martin, a late-summer addition who started some games in 2010, will also get his shot, along with 2009 fourth-round pick Shawn Nelson.