Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen signals they are going for a two-point conversion vs. the Denver Broncos in Orchard Park on Jan. 12, 2025. Smiling about the touchdown is fullback Reggie Gilliam. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

'Unique' Buffalo Bills sixth-year fullback 'definition of what you want'

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ralph Ventre | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 8:17 AM ET

The undrafted role player was once a roster longshot, but times have changed drastically for Buffalo Bills' veteran Reggie Gilliam.

With the NFL cutdown deadline passing this past week, Gilliam's roster status was never really in question.

"Reggie's huge to our system, to our football team. I'm talking offense, special teams, like everything," said Bills' offensive coordinator Joe Brady during the final week of training camp in Orchard Park.

When Brady was elevated to interim offensive coordinator midway through the 2023 season, it was Gilliam who made the first big play during Brady's first game in the Bills' OC role. On the Week 11 opening kickoff, Gilliam hammered New York Jets' returner Xavier Gipson and forced a fumble that gave Buffalo's offense a drive start at the opponent's 21-yard line.

"I always think back to, again, the first game I called here, he set the tone on kickoff. I wasn't expecting to be calling a play. And next thing you know, he forces the fumble. It's kind of who Reggie is," said Brady.

The Bills initially signed Gilliam, out of Toledo, following the 2020 NFL Draft. The 6-foot fullback quickly became a special teams regular, averaging 324 specialist snaps per season since 2021. Buffalo re-signed him to a one-year contract this past March.

Although fullbacks are a dying breed in today's NFL, the Bills still value the position to an extent, and they have specific personnel packages for Gilliam, who has proven to be an effective run blocker. In 2024, he played 15 percent of offensive snaps.

While he has only six carries and two touchdown receptions to his credit over 77 career games, the 28-year-old Gilliam possesses an athleticism that makes him a threat the defense needs to respect.

“He's so unique because he's athletic. Sometimes you get some fullbacks that are just, they're bruisers, and there's only so much you can do. Reggie is a guy that we can move out wide," said Brady. "Reggie is the definition of what you want in the Buffalo Bills, and he's huge for offense and our football team."

It's been quite an evolution for an overlooked small-school fullback.