According to Adam Schefter, the Buffalo Bills appear to be the number one landing spot for Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk of the Baltimore Ravens. Schefter tweeted this morning that the Bills are the favorite to land Juszczyk (pronounced “YOOSE-check”) even though he has garnered “significant interest.”
This seems to be a backhanded way of questioning why the Bills would be a favorite to land the 25-year old, but it certainly makes sense from a personnel standpoint. With the Bills having the NFL’s top rushing offense for the past two seasons, a fullback should be interested in coming to the team, knowing full well that he’ll be regularly used. For his career, Juszczyk has rushed only 7 times for 41 yards and 1 touchdown; however, he has performed well as a receiver, catching 97 passes for 769 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The four-year veteran was drafted by the Ravens in the 4th round (130th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. From an athletic standpoint, he profiles closely to another Buffalo Bill in tight end Charles Clay. While Clay is two inches taller (6’3” to Juszczyk’s 6’1”), they are right around the same weight (245 and 240, respectively). Their 40-yard dash times were remarkably similar (4.69 for Clay and 4.71 for Juszczyk), and Juszczyk’s numbers were better than Clay’s in the bench press (24 reps to 20), vertical jump (37” to 35”), 20-yard shuttle (4.19 to 4.32), and 3-cone drill (6.93 to 7.02).
Whether as a pure fullback, an H-back, or some combination of “move” piece, Juszczyk will certainly be a welcome add to the Rick Dennison offense. Dennison and Juszczyk crossed paths in Baltimore in 2014.
Update: With the signing of Patrick Dimarco it was all but a sure thing that the Bills were out of the running for Juszczyk, but here is some confirmation from Schefty.
Let's try this again: Ravens Pro-Bowl FB Kyle Juszczyk plans to sign with the 49ers assuming no last-minute negotiating snags, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2017