Reggie Gilliam was a "Swiss Army knife" for the Bills, according to quarterback Josh Allen.
Reggie Gilliam was a "Swiss Army knife" for the Bills, according to quarterback Josh Allen.Gary McCullough/Associated Press
The old-school neck roll has returned to Foxborough.
Fullback Reggie Gilliam, who agreed to a three-year deal with a maximum value of $12 million (and $6 million guaranteed over two years), likely means that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be able to dip back into his New England playbook from a decade or so ago, one that featured a similar tank in James Develin.
Turn on a clip of the Buffalo offense last year, and it’s easy to see Gilliam’s impact as a thumper. The 6-foot, 244-pounder was involved in 21 percent of Buffalo’s offensive snaps last season, and helped clear a path for the Bills’ No. 1 back in James Cook, who led the league with 1,621 rushing yards last season.
“He’s the ultimately Swiss Army knife for us,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen told reporters last October when asked about Gilliam.
“Playing tight end, playing fullback. He plays a lot of special teams for us. Again, a guy that plays football the right way,” Allen added. “Doesn’t care about the stats. Doesn’t care about his name being in the paper. But if you go back and watch some of the runs [Cook] has had over the last few weeks, he’s been involved in quite a few of them. Going in there are doing some of the dirty work. Kind of an unsung hero of our offense right now.”
The 28-year-old Gilliam also served as the primary pusher for Allen in goal-line situations, something that should appeal to McDaniels and the New England offense.
“He’s a high-level blocker who understands schematics and leverage and strength,” said Jason Candle, who was the head coach at Toledo when Gilliam played for the Rockets as a collegian from 2016 to 2019.
McDaniels and the Patriots leaned on Develin for seven seasons, and the bruiser helped clear the way adroitly for a variety of backs. Last year, New England used Jack Westover and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga at fullback, with Tonga seeing action usually in goal-line situations. Now, with Tonga off to Kansas City as a free agent, Westover can play more of the backup tight end role he’s suited to, and Gilliam can take the lead in the backfield.
Gilliam won’t run a bunch of go routes, but he has been dependable enough in the passing game to stay on the field during passing downs, a rarity for some fullbacks.
“He can catch out of the backfield as well, and has the ability to run it from time to time as needed,” said Candle, who recently took over the program at the University of Connecticut. “He just has a really good feel for what it takes to play in the chaos. And he’s a very tough guy when it comes to doing the sorts of things that most players don’t want to be involved in.”
But Candle said New England is really getting a “coaches dream” when it comes to special teams.
“He started with us as a walk-on running back, and he really turned into what I believed was the best special teams player in the country,” Candle said of Gilliam, who started his college career as a walk-on. “He blocked four kicks for us as a junior, and six in all his last two seasons.
“He will do absolutely whatever he needs to do to get his hands dirty. In my eyes, he’s a throwback player, one of those guys who wants to do what’s right for the team, and understands his role within the scheme.”
While Gilliam will have a role within the framework of the New England offense, Candle said his special teams value is immense. Gilliam was a member of Buffalo’s core four last year when it came to special teams, and ended the regular season with 332 special teams snaps, second-most on the team (77 percent). That’s coming off a two-year stretch in 2023 and 2024 where he led the Bills in special teams snaps each year .
That dedication to special teams took hold as a collegian. Candle anticipates he’ll be able to handle the same sort of special teams’ workload in New England.
“I’d like to take credit for what he did when he was with us at Toledo; great coaching, right?” Candle said with a laugh. “But those blocks weren’t schemed up. He was just knocking people back. He’s a load, and is heavy-handed. He’s not afraid to put his face in there. You can see that in the way he impacts not only what a team does on offense, but the kicking game the last few years in Buffalo.
“I absolutely loved coaching him, and I think New England got a great player.”
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Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.