This is the first a series of profiles of Buffalo Bills draft prospects.
There was no doubt about Isaiah Likely’s pre-draft mission in selling himself to NFL teams.
“Definitely, I’m an all-around tight end,” the Coastal Carolina prospect told The News at the Senior Bowl. “Not only was I effective in the pass game but I can also be in the run game. ... I’m definitely trying to show I can block defensive linemen. I’ve been harping on that.”
The 6-foot-4½, 245-pound Likely is an exciting pass-catching weapon. He’s a big target. He averaged 20 yards a catch as a junior and 15.5 as a senior. He had 14 catches of 20-plus yards last season. He had five career touchdown catches of 50 or more yards. He was a game-breaking target up the seams and downfield for the explosive Coastal Carolina attack.
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The question for NFL scouts is: Can he develop into a dual-threat player that defenses will have to respect in the run game as well as the pass game?
If he can’t, then his value is limited to being a “move” tight end, a guy who plays split out from the line of scrimmage as a spread passing game. Is he special enough as a flexed-out tight end? Likely’s tape suggests he plays fast. But he ran the 40-yard dash in a pedestrian time of 4.83 seconds at the Coastal Carolina pro day workout. By comparison, Bills tight end Dawson Knox ran 4.55 out of college.
The Bills could use another tight end prospect. Under coach Sean McDermott, Buffalo always has required its tight ends to be all-around players with blocking ability, not just big slot receivers.
Buffalo used one of its 30 pre-draft visits on Likely. He might be good value for the Bills in the third round, with the 89th overall pick. ESPN’s Todd McShay lists him 88th on his overall prospect list. Pro Football Focus lists him at 108th. CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso doesn’t put him in the top 100, but some mock drafters put him early in the third round.
“He shows a burst to climb the seam, and he attacks the football,” said Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network. “He’s an outstanding leaper to make plays above the rim. ... All in all, Likely might lack ideal size, but he’s a mismatch player with tremendous upside.”
Likely had 59 catches for 912 yards and 12 TDs last season. He had just one drop.
If he’s going to become more of an impact blocker, Likely needs to add a little more weight and power to his frame, if he can do it without losing speed. He showed a willingness to block for Coastal Carolina, but it was mostly as a blocker on the second level, not at the line of scrimmage.
Asked what he’d look for in scouting tight ends, Likely said: “I’d look for if a kid has a competitive nature and a dog mentality. At the end of the day at tight end, you have to be able to pass catch and be able to run block. So you have to know what the receivers are doing and you gotta know what the O-linemen are doing.”
Coastal Carolina ran a spread option offense with a dual-threat quarterback. Likely got a lot of experience running routes like a wide receiver.
“It helped a lot playing for Jamie Chadwell just because he let me play out wide as a receiver, in the slot and also in line,” Likely said. “So he helped me with the route tree, understanding what receivers run and also what tight ends run.”
Likely helped his high school team to two straight state titles. He had a 4.0 average in the fall of 2021. He graduated in December 2021. He’s viewed as a high-character prospect.
“Whoever gets me is going to get everything I’ve got day in and day out,” he said.
