Bills Central

OC Joe Brady loves everything about breakout Bills TE

Buffalo Bills tight end Zach Davidson earned praise from offensive coordinator Joe Brady amidst his strong training camp.

Kyle Silagyi

Bills tight end Zach Davidson eyes in a pass during the opening day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University.
Bills tight end Zach Davidson eyes in a pass during the opening day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Training camp provides NFL fans the annual opportunity to fall in love with overlooked and previously unnoticed players, a natural occurrence given that everybody loves a good underdog story. The Buffalo faithful have a penchant for idolizing training camp standouts, and 2024’s camp features no shortage of such players; sophomore wideout Tyrell Shavers has perhaps been the most discussed under-the-radar player thus far, but a fourth-year tight end has, too, received his fair share of praise.

Zach Davidson has been oft-discussed throughout camp, flashing several times with big plays in the passing game. It’s difficult to miss Davidson when he’s on the field—he is 6-foot-7, 250 pounds, after all—but he, to this point in his professional career, hasn’t even been on the field in a regular season game; the 26-year-old, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, was waived ahead of his rookie season and spent his debut campaign on the Vikings’ practice squad. He again failed to make Minnesota’s 53-man roster in his sophomore campaign, instead joining the Bills’ practice squad after his August release; he spent the 2022 season on Buffalo’s practice squad and the 2023 campaign on its injured reserve list.

Related: Overlooked Bills DE breaks down how he creates impact plays

His lack of playing time is not necessarily an indictment of his ability, however, something he’s showcased throughout camp as he’s created several chunk plays as a pass-catcher. He’s caught the attention of his coaching staff, with offensive coordinator Joe Brady offering significant praise for the tight end ahead of Wednesday’s training camp practice.

“You guys, I’m sure, feel him,” Brady said. “Rob Boras is an incredible tight end coach, and you’re getting all of those tight ends rolling, they’ve all had a really good camp, which has been a lot of fun. Zach’s personality, I drink a lot of coffee [and] a lot of caffeine, I think his is just pure natural. He can run for days and he’s a lot of fun. You enjoy being around Zach, and he’s had some opportunities in camp and he’s made the most of it. Love everything about Zach.”

Zach Davidson
Bills Zach Davidson, a tight end, listens during a short huddle at the end of practice at Bills training camp. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Central Missouri product has a steep climb to Buffalo’s active roster given those above him on the depth chart at tight end; second-year pass catcher Dalton Kincaid and veteran Dawson Knox are not only entrenched as the No. 1 and No. 2, respectively—they both figure to play prominent roles in the passing game. Fullback Reggie Gilliam—who is a virtual roster lock—also has immense positional versatility and took 37 snaps as an inline tight end last season; the Bills will likely keep a third traditional tight end, but the 25-year-old Quintin Morris (who has been on Buffalo’s active roster in each of the past two seasons) may have the edge over Davidson in this competition.

If Davidson is ultimately left off the Bills’ 53-man roster, it won’t be for his lack of trying. He’ll attempt to build on his strong camp and cement his claim on a roster spot with a strong preseason; Buffalo’s 2024 preseason slate kicks off on August 10 with a 1:00 p.m. clash with the Chicago Bears.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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