By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is going to look a lot different in 2019. Both Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are halfway out the door, but they’re not alone.
Some have connected the Buffalo Bills to both Brown and Bell, and now you can add tight end Jesse James into the mix.
The Bills released Charles Clay nearly a week ago and could be looking for a replacement. Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst said on his recent podcast that the Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars are interested in James.
“I’m told that the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills are two teams very interested in James once he hits the open market,” Pauline said.
Per the report, the Steelers are keen on trying to keep James, who’s a free agent, but he’s currently on a loaded depth chart. Vance McDonald is the top tight end for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
If the Bills added James, 24, he’d be a bit like Clay. Both are viewed as all-around tight ends who can block as well as they can catch. However, most observers of the Bills will hope the current Steelers tight end can flash more as a receiver than Clay has recently. In his 4-year career, James has 120 catches for 1,189 yards and 9 touchdowns. Only modest numbers because he’s had to share a position with Vance McDonald in the Steelers’ lineup. In 2018, James had only started 7 of Pittsburgh’s games, making 30 catches on 39 targets for 423 yards and 2 touchdowns.
His yards per reception also shot up to 14.1. In addition to an all-around game, James certainly has the build of a massive, athletic modern-day NFL tight end at 6-foot-7, 261 pounds.
In terms of blocking, Pro Football Focus graded Clay at 57.4 while James edged him out at 64.0.
Currently, Jason Croom is the lone tight end on Buffalo’s roster. The team also has 10 total picks at the 2019 NFL Draft in April.