Tolbert looks unlikely to have many carries in Buffalo

When breaking down the five positions to watch at camp, the Buffalo Bills website omitted veteran back Mike Tolbert from the running back position, naming second-year back Jonathan Williams as the “most likely” to back up starter LeSean McCoy. The article also mentioned that veteran Joe Banyard and Cedric O’Neal will be in the running to compete for carries.
Tolbert lined up as a halfback in 50.5 percent of his snaps last year, and lined up as a fullback 35.8 percent of his snaps. He logged 35 rushing attempts in 2016, and accumulated 114 yards, for an average of 3.3 yards per carry that fell below the NFL average of 4.2.
Bills reporter Joe Buscaglia has called Tolbert “more of a pass-blocking option on third downs.” Over the last two seasons, Tolbert has achieved pass-blocking grades of 75.8 and 80.7, ranking second and third, respectively, of all fullbacks in the league. In 2016 his pass-block efficiency (the PFF metric that measures the pressure surrendered on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks) of 98.1 ranked second of 62 backs in the NFL with at least 25 pass-blocking snaps. This will help Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who suffered pressure on 41 percent of his dropbacks, the fourth-highest mark in the league.