2020 is coming into focus for Bills’ Dawson Knox
Dawson Knox is eyeing an expanded role on the Bills offense this season. Possessing size and big playmaking ability, Knox has his sights set on taking a significant step forward in his second year with the team. So what type of progression might fans notice when he takes the field?
“I felt like year one was a tough year just because it was my first year in the league,” Knox said via video conference earlier this month from Bills training camp. “Finally, towards the end of the season, I felt like I was able to kind of start playing faster … just playing freely… continuing to build on everything we did last year I’m really excited to see what this year’s gonna be like. I feel like I’m ready to make a big leap.”
Entering only the second year of his career, the 6-foot-4, 254 pound Knox has shown flashes of elite skills with a high ceiling and upside in his first season of game play, earning him the nickname “Mr. Stiff Arm” courtesy of his new teammate, Stefon Diggs.
Knox helped his own cause training in the offseason with 49ers Pro Bowler George Kittle, describing him as the player he tries to emulate his game after most.
“Just watching him, what he does on film is amazing … It’s really fun to see his athleticism in space, the way he creates separation and he’s hard to bring down, too,” Knox said.
Previously a quarterback prior to college, Knox switched to tight end due to injury. Still, there were still believers in Knox’s change of positions.
Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy commented prior to the 2019 draft: “Talent-wise there wasn’t much difference between he and T.J. Hockenson who went No. 8 overall to Detroit. Dawson can block, he’s a really tough kid, he’s got a great body type for the position.”
Knox would finish his rookie season with 28 receptions for 388 total yards, two touchdowns, and a catchable target rate of 90 percent, making a strong first impression. But there was also room for improvement with a 56 percent catch rate, leading all NFL tight end qualifiers with a drop rate of 12 percent (10 dropped passes total). The Bills only featured 46 catches by their tight ends which was good for 26th in the league.
But despite that focus on Knox’s hands, he didn’t settle on just wanting to fix that issue this offseason. Blocking needed some love, too.
“It was mostly just training my eyes. I realized most of the issues I had were on the easier balls where Josh (Allen) would put a great ball right on my chest and I would already be kind of looking to make someone miss before I secured that. Blocking wise, I want to get better in pass protection. I want to be able to be out there and do whatever they need me to do. I don’t want to be a guy that they have to take off when they run certain packages. So I kind of wanted to just work on all areas of my game, make it a little bit more well-rounded and just work on some consistency things with catching the ball,” Knox said.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott must have been listening, but he set the bar high for Knox in 2020 during training camp, too.
“Dawson had a good offseason, we do expect a year of growth, a year of development going from its first year to a second year. I’m really encouraged by the way that he’s approached things, by the way that he’s worked on his body this offseason from what it appears,” McDermott said.
Knox’s improvement could be pivotal for the Bills next season. Yes, Stefon Diggs was the big-name playmaker added for the Bills, but there should be a trickle-down effect in the Bills offense. Guys like Knox could see softer coverage because of Diggs’ addition. Quarterback Josh Allen recognizes that as well.
“I think if you look at our pieces like Dawson… they’re going into their second year in the same system, they had a lot of success last year as rookies and they’re only going to continue to get better. I think they’re going to have even more opportunities with Stef (Diggs) out there. Defenses are going to pay more attention to what else we’ve got on the field,” Allen said.
With his ability to be a nightmarish mismatch to opposing defenses, it may not be long before Dawson begins to own Knoxville-sized real estate in the end zone for the Bills.
