The Index · Legend

Shane Zylstra Buffalo Bills · #48

Tight End · 6' 4", 244 lbs · Spicer, MN · Age 30

Shane Zylstra is a Tight End for the Buffalo Bills, an undrafted signing. In 2025 he caught 3 passes for 20 yards and 0 touchdowns.

Buffalo Bills roster More Tight Ends

Tight EndUndrafted4-yr veteran

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

◆ Rated

Buffalo Bills · #48 · Tight End

Shane Zylstra

Season avg3 rec · 20 yds · 0 td

Career avg18 rec · 136 yds · 4 td

IMPACTBalladex Impact 50 — Rotation piece tierINDEXShane Zylstra · Buffalo BillsIMPACTBalladex Impact 50 — Rotation piece tierINDEXShane Zylstra · Buffalo Bills

Scouting report

Shane Zylstra — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades are percentiles vs every active player at his position.

C-

Tight End · Rotation piece · Impact 50

Shane Zylstra is a Tight End for the Buffalo Bills, an undrafted signing. In 2025 he caught 3 passes for 20 yards and 0 touchdowns.

C-

Receiving

Big-play

C-

Scoring

C-

Receiving yards

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

C-

Volume

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

C-

Scoring

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

Big-play

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

C-

Target share

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

Act II

Where Shane Zylstra stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

✦ Balladex Consensus: Rotation piece tier — a blend of Impact, production and résumé.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

50Impact index

39Star score

Career scoring average0.0 ppg

Seasons in the index0

Accolades on file0

Stat explorer

Shane Zylstra — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

B+

Receiving

20 YDS

drill in ↓

A-

Volume

3 REC

drill in ↓

Big-play

6.7 Y/R

drill in ↓

C-

Scoring

0 TD

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Shane Zylstra

Projection = recency-weighted per-season production, nudged along a position aging curve, banded by his year-to-year volatility. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected 2026 modeled

rec

-1–7

rec yds

9–41

-1–2

targets

-1–10

games

6–12

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 4-season history below.

What moves the rec line vs last season

Last season 3 → projected 3 rec

Baseline (recency-weighted)

+0.7

Age curve

-0.3

Net vs last season+0.3 rec

Everything it reads

📊

4 seasons of real box production

every game line, verified

real

⚖

Recency × games weight

recent, healthy years anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Year-over-year trend

his own trajectory, season to season

+dev

🕰

Position aging curve

age 30 — applied to the projection

curve

🏈

Role & usage context

target / carry share and snaps fold in

+ctx

🏥

Availability signal

games last 3: 13 / 12 / 6

health

The real history it trains onsource: Pro-Football-Reference / ESPN · verified

Shane Zylstra career stats, season by season

Career stats by season
Season	G	Rec	Yds	TD	Tgt	Y/R
2021	4	3	34	0	7	11.3
2022	13	11	60	4	15	5.5
2024	12	1	22	0	1	22.0
2025	6	3	20	0	5	6.7
Career	35	18	136	4	28

Source: Pro-Football-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers the report-card percentiles and the DNA radar — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = award / milestone season · hover any bar. Real season totals.

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

Princeton Fant 96%Ben Sinnott 96%Stone Smartt 96%Colson Yankoff 96%Quintin Morris 95%Drake Dabney 95%

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Context

Are the Buffalo Bills built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

12–5proj record

86off index

99def index

+51net

95%playoff odds

60roster

Roster delta · what changed

Offense grades A- (86), defense A+ (99) by our position-percentile roster model. QB play indexes at 78, pass rush 99, coverage 99.

How his role moves

Projected 12–5 on a 17-game slate — modeled from the current roster's production percentiles, not a calibrated Vegas line. His snaps, target/carry share and usage move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

50 of 99

Rotation piece tier.

Rarity

◆ Rated

Collectible tier.

Résumé

0 accolades

Career honors on file.

Act IV

The Ballad of Shane Zylstra

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

1996-11-16

The beginning

Shane Zylstra is a Tight End for the Buffalo Bills, in his 5th NFL season.

true

Shane Zylstra is a Buffalo Bills tight end, an undrafted find.

Chapter

Across 4 seasons (2021–2025) he has caught 18 passes for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Chapter

Most recently he caught 3 passes for 20 yards and 0 touchdowns in 2025.

Where things stand

Where Zylstra goes from here.

▶

Zylstra's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Highlights landing soon

Off the field

Measurables

Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 244 lbs
Born: Spicer, MN
Age: 30
Jersey: #48

Background

Shane Zylstra is from Spicer, MN and is 30 years old. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and plays tight end at 6' 4", 244 lbs.

Over 4 seasons (2021–2025) he has caught 18 passes for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns. Zylstra is currently on the Buffalo Bills roster.

The person

Shane Zylstra is a blocking and depth tight end who has caught 18 passes for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns across 4 seasons (2021–2025).

Receiving18 career receptions for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Best season11 catches for 60 yards in 2022.

UndraftedEarned a roster spot after going undrafted.

Verified profiles & sources

ESPN ESPN ESPN

FAQ

Shane Zylstra — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Shane Zylstra, answered.

What position does Shane Zylstra play?

Shane Zylstra is a Tight End for the Buffalo Bills.

When was Shane Zylstra drafted?

Shane Zylstra entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent.

How many seasons has Shane Zylstra played?

4 (2021–2025).

What are Shane Zylstra's career stats?

He has caught 18 passes for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Shane Zylstra career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.