When your offensive coordinator is dubbed by your general manager as "a big tight end guy" who "likes to use three to four tight ends," you know that means there's bound to be a special premium placed on the position by your franchise.
For the Buffalo Bills and GM Doug Whaley that likely means another addition or two at tight end, even beyond Charles Clay, in order for new offensive coordinator Greg Roman to more fully employ his offensive vision.
With the 2015 NFL Draft looming, Whaley will likely look to the NFL's annual rookie meat market as a means to add at least one body and potentially even two and the newly significant position.
"Knowing Buffalo coveted Clay's unique versatility, one can expect the Bills to select a player who offers a similar skill set. Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary is a multi-dimensional player who could potentially fill a role within the offense," writes Bill O'Hare of BuffaloBills.com.
O'Leary, a three-year starter for the Seminoles, finished his collegiate career with 114 receptions and was named an AP First Team All-American as a senior. In his junior season, he led all Division I tight ends in yards per catch (16.9) en route to aiding Florida State on their national championship run.
He lined up in a myriad of positions for FSU and is looking to do the same once he enters the NFL.
"I feel like I can do it all," said O'Leary, per O'Hare. "People say my route running is not that good. I feel like it is. I feel like I run better routes than a lot of them, and I think I have better hands. There are a lot of guys at Florida State who weren't able to cover me."
O'Leary lacks elite speed - he clocked in at 4.93 in the 40 - but he's known as a savvy, technically-sound blocker who likely projects as an H-back at the next level.
"O'Leary has the competitive spirit and toughness that teams look for in a dual-threat tight end, but he lacks the physical traits. Based on how Florida State used him, he is an easy projection to an H-back spot where he should be an effective move-blocker and pass-catcher," reads NFL.com's Lance Zierlein's draft profile of O'Leary.
That competitive spirit and toughness was on display during his final game as a Seminole, when he played through a grade one hamstring tear.
While Clay was a big addition, Chris Gragg is incredibly injury-prone and former college basketball player Chris Manhertz is an athletic unknown, so it would behoove Whaley to add another body or two at the tight end position in the coming 2015 NFL Draft.
