Making use of a the seventh-round pick they acquired in the Day 1 draft trade with St. Louis, Buffalo addressed a positional need on offense taking Arkansas TE/H-back Chris Gragg.
"Man it was a long wait," said Gragg of being taken in the seventh round. "They were telling me my talent was second or third round (caliber), but the wait came to Buffalo and I couldn't be more excited.
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"I knew they needed a tight end. I had talked to them at the Combine and my pro day and I told them I could be their guy."
Gragg (6'3" 244), who was limited to just five games his senior season with a knee injury, still finished his Razorbacks career with 72 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns.
Bills GM Buddy Nix believes Gragg will bring some athleticism and speed to the tight end position, and may even split time at receiver.
"He's a receiver, a running receiver," said Nix. "He's a 38.5 inch vertical jump. He's a good athlete, runs 4.5 and big enough. Caught some passes, been hurt, got hurt and didn't have the big year, but he's healthy now. I was at his workout. He's a guy that will stretch (defenses) some."
Though he missed the last eight games of his college career he recovered and impressed NFL talent evaluators at the NFL Combine. His aforementioned 40-time and vertical leap were accompanied by a 10-foot five-inch broad jump.
"That's what I wanted to show at the Combine that I was healthy," said Gragg. "I knew I was the most athletic tight end and fast and explosive."
A former wide receiver, Gragg was converted to a tight end role after just three games as a wideout for Arkansas back in 2009. In the NFL he isn't considered an in line tight end, but more of a move type tight end or H-back.
Gragg is accustomed to multiple roles offensively after being used in various positions at Arkansas.
"I did all of those things at Arkansas. I played in the backfield, wing, in tight and split out so I feel like I can do it all," said Gragg. "I'm willing to do whatever."
Bills head coach Doug Marrone sounds as if he's willing to experiment with Gragg's multi-dimensional skill set.
"I'm actually thinking about building upon what he was doing at Arkansas," Marrone said. "He's got 4.5 speed and I think he can stretch the field vertically, which gives you some good matchups at times depending upon what's on defense."
