Tyler Kroft

Tyler Kroft (born October 15, 1992) is an American football tight end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rutgers. He was drafted in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tyler Kroft
Kroft with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015
No. 81 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1992-10-15) October 15, 1992
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:252 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school:Downingtown East
(Lionville, Pennsylvania)
College:Rutgers
NFL Draft:2015 / Round: 3 / Pick: 85
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Receptions:85
Receiving yards:851
Receiving touchdowns:12
Player stats at NFL.com

High School

Kroft attended Downingtown East High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He played tight end and wide receiver for the football team. He was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit.[1] He committed to Rutgers University to play college football.[2]

College career

Kroft was redshirted as a freshman in 2011 at Rutgers. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he played in 11 games and had three receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown.[3] As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Kroft started 12 of 13 games, including a career-best 133 yards against Arkansas in game 4. On the season, he had a team-leading 43 receptions and 573 yards, along with four touchdowns,[4][5] and was a first-team all-conference selection. Kroft started 12 of 13 games as a redshirt junior in 2014, but took on a restricted role and reached neither five receptions nor 50 yards in any of them. On the season, he had 24 receptions for 269 yards.[6] He was awarded the "Loyal Knight" award for his willingness to scale back.[7]

After his redshirt junior season, he entered the 2015 NFL Draft.[8][9] He finished his collegiate career with 70 receptions for 901 yards and five touchdowns.

YearSchoolGRecYdsAvgTD
2012Rutgers1135919.71
2013Rutgers134357313.34
2014Rutgers102426911.20
Career7090112.95

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand sizeBench press
6 ft 5 1⁄2 in
(1.97 m)		 246 lb
(112 kg)		 33 in
(0.84 m)		 9 5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		17 reps
All values from NFL Combine

2015 season
See also: 2015 Cincinnati Bengals season

Kroft was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft.[10] He played back-up to Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert. He caught his first career touchdown in Week 16 against the 49ers on a 20-yard pass from AJ McCarron.[11] He played in all 16 games his rookie season with six starts, recording 11 receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown.[12]

2016 season
See also: 2016 Cincinnati Bengals season

Kroft was third on the depth chart behind Eifert and C.J. Uzomah for much of the season, compiling ten receptions for 92 yards off the bench.[13]

2017 season
See also: 2017 Cincinnati Bengals season

Kroft began the season behind Tyler Eifert, but after Eifert was injured in Week 2, Kroft took the starting role. In Week 4, he had six receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns, leading the team and setting career bests in all three categories. In Week 9, he had a career-long 59-yard reception against Jacksonville en route to a career-best 79 receiving yards.[14][15] In Weeks 11 and 12 he had back-to-back receiving touchdowns for the first time in his career, both of one yard;[16] the one in Week 11 occurred after teammate Dre Kirkpatrick returned an interception 101 yards, but committed an unforced fumble just before reaching the end zone.[17]

2018 season
See also: 2018 Cincinnati Bengals season

Kroft suffered a foot injury in Week 5 and missed the next five games in hopes he could return. He was placed on injured reserve on November 16, 2018, officially ending his season.[18] He played in five games and finished with four receptions for 36 yards.[19]

2019 season
See also: 2019 Buffalo Bills season

On March 13, 2019, Kroft signed a three-year $18.75 million contract with the Buffalo Bills.[20][21] On May 20, on the first day of OTAs, he broke his foot during practice, which required surgery.[22] Kroft finished the season with six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, which he scored during a Week 15 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth quarter, allowing the Bills to win 17–10 and clinch a playoff spot.[23]

2020 season
See also: 2020 Buffalo Bills season

In Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, Kroft filled in for injured starter Dawson Knox, catching four passes for 24 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score from Josh Allen as Buffalo won 35–32.[24] Kroft was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 14, 2020,[25] and activated on November 19.[26] On January 2, 2021, Kroft was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after contracting the coronavirus.

Professional statistics
YearTmGRecYdsY/RTD
2015CIN161112911.71
2016CIN1410929.20
2017CIN13424049.67
2018CIN54369.00
2019BUF1167111.81
2020BUF71010710.72
Career698383910.111

Personal life

Kroft is married to Lexi Kroft. Their daughter Grace was born October 23, 2020.[27]

References
  1. "Rivals.com". rivals.yahoo.com.
  2. "Downingtown East TE Tyler Kroft verbally commits to Rutgers".
  3. "Tyler Kroft missing valuable time to become complete tight end". Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  4. "Archives - Philly.com". articles.philly.com.
  5. "Rutgers' Tyler Kroft developing into elite tight end".
  6. "Tyler Kroft Career Game Log - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  7. "2016 Rutgers Football Media Guide". Rutgers University.
  8. "Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft leaving for the 2015 NFL Draft".
  9. "Rutgers tight end Tyler Kroft declares for NFL Draft".
  10. Marcum, Jason (May 1, 2015). "NFL Draft 2015: Bengals select Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  11. "Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos - December 28th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  12. "Tyler Kroft 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  13. "Tyler Kroft 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  14. "Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - October 1st, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  15. "Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars - November 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  16. "Tyler Kroft Career Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  17. "Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos - November 19th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  18. "Bengals TE Tyler Kroft's season is over; LB Brandon Bell promoted from practice squad". CincyJungle.com. November 16, 2018.
  19. "Tyler Kroft 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  20. Alper, Josh (March 11, 2019). "Koft agrees to deal with Bills". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.co.
  21. Brown, Chris (March 13, 2019). "Offense dominates Bills initial wave of 2019 free agent additions". BuffaloBills.com.
  22. Gantt, Darin (May 21, 2019). "Bills tight end Tyler Kroft breaks foot in OTAs, needs surgery". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  23. "Bills clinch playoff spot, defeat Steelers, 17-10". Associated Press. December 16, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  24. Paylor, Terez (September 27, 2020). "How far can the Bills go with Josh Allen? That's completely up to him". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  25. "Josh Norman tests positive for COVID-19, 3 other players placed on reserve/COVID-19 list". BuffaloBills.com. November 14, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  26. Alper, Josh (November 19, 2020). "Bills take Levi Wallace, Tyler Kroft, Dean Marlowe off COVID-19 list". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  27. "Why Tyler and Lexi Kroft's baby girl has the 'clutch gene'". WIVB-TV. October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
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