ORCHARD PARK — A smirk crept across Keleki Latu 's face as he sat at his locker after practice.
It was hard not to smirk when thinking about his football journey.
It started in Sacramento, California, where Latu played mostly defensive end and a little wide receiver — and rugby union — at Jesuit High School in nearby Carmichael. But he wasn't fast enough to play receiver and there wasn't much call for a 6-foot-7, 205-pound defensive end in college.
He was a three-star tight end recruit, landing at the University of California. After two seasons Latu went to Nevada, then to Washington after a coaching change and eventually the Buffalo Bills practice squad last season.
After Dalton Kincaid suffered a hamstring injury Week 10, Latu was called up from the practice squad three consecutive weeks. And after Kincaid was also nursing a PCL tear late in the season, Latu was signed to the active roster for the final two regular-season games.
Still, few gave him much chance to make the 53-man roster out of training camp this season with three talented tight ends returning. And yet Latu never got the dreaded call on cutdown day.
"It's been a crazy journey," Latu told GNN Sports after practice Tuesday. "I'm blessed with all the obstacles that I had to face. And last year, it was a great opportunity for me to learn from the veterans, to see how everything operates, how to handle myself in the light of veterans. And hopefully that continues as the years go on."
There were many reasons for Latu to get discouraged in college. Over his first three seasons, Latu never hit 20 catches. But he was never frustrated, especially because he knew what his older brother was battling.
Laiatu Latu — roughly 20 months older — injured his neck during his sophomore season at Washington. The team's doctors told him wouldn't play again and coach Jimmy Lake announced during 2021 spring practices that Laiatu was going to retire.
But after a year out of football, Laiatu was cleared at the assistance of his position coach at Washington, Ikaika Malloe. After being cleared, Laiatu transferred to UCLA, where Malloe had been hired.
By 2023, Laiatu was a unanimous All-American and voted the best defensive end in the country, eventually being selected 15th overall by the Indianapolis Colts .
"He's my role model throughout life," Keleki said. "... He inspires me to be who I am today, to be a great football player, great man and just be better than some legends that you look up to."
Still, the younger Latu bounced from college to college, which isn't an abnormality in today's landscape. But Latu wasn't chasing more name, image and likeness money. He just wanted to be a better tight end.
In his senior season at Washington, Latu had 40 receptions for 371 yards. When the NFL Draft arrived, Latu had beefed up to 250 pounds.
"I just really wanted to be a better tight end," Latu said. "... I feel like I wanted to get more technical and just understand what happens better, like with the coaching staff being fired and obstacles. I just wanted the best opportunities for me to make it to the next level."
None of his work led to getting drafted or even invited to the NFL scouting combine. And a solid training camp with the Bills didn't result in being picked for the 53-man roster. In fact, the Bills didn't even consider him a candidate on cutdown day.
The Bills knew Latu could be a receiving threat after posting a 4.81-second 40-yard dash and a 30-inch vertical jump at Washington's pro day. But he still had to work to make his long frame more compact to be an effective blocker.
"He's come a long way from 12 months ago," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. "… I think this guy really focused on his play strength, his run blocking, being a more complete tight end. He's a longer-levered guy so it's easy for guys to get up under his pads. So just getting his leverage, his hands, his angles. … You're trying to keep the best 53 that you can and I thought he earned an opportunity."
After signing a reserve/future contract with the Bills in January, Latu was still a longshot to make the active roster again. But he felt more confident going into camp that he was a rookie and there was never a thought of finding another team with a less crowded tight end room.
Perhaps the Bills will eventually decide keeping four tight ends isn't necessary, but right now it fits league trends. Last year 13 personnel — one running back and three tight ends — usage jumped from 3.6% to 5.4%, while multi-tight end usage in general climbed to 29.3% league-wide.
"I definitely feel more confident in my abilities to do what I need to do," Latu said. "Last year was just learning the playbook. There's a lot of things to process, but I just developed my mindset to execute what I need to do at a high level. Whether they want me at the Y, F or the Z, I can do."
NOTES: OT Jude Bowry, DB Jordan Hancock , RB Ty Johnson , S Jalon Kilgore, WR Khalil Shakir , OLB Javon Solomon and OT Jedrick Wills Jr . did not practice Tuesday. … ILB Terrel Bernard , WR Keon Coleman , S C.J. Gardner-Johnson , C Connor McGovern and DT Ed Oliver returned to practice.
