Bills TE Dawson Knox had a breakout year in 2021, taking the next step many had been looking for since he was selected by Buffalo with the 96th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss.
At 6’4 and 254 lb with 33 and 1/2 arms and 9 3/4 hands, the 25-year-old is looking to build on a campaign last season in which he broke the Bills single-season franchise record for touchdowns by a TE, finishing with nine total scoring catches on the year.
Even still, while addressing the press this week Knox made it clear he “Still got stuff to prove”.
What’s more, he spoke about one of the Bills newest additions to his position group and how they might play a role in that on-field production.
“It’s fun having guys like O.J. in the room, there’s going to be a lot of diversity, a lot of versatility with the position now”, Knox said during his media vailability.
During free agency this offseason, GM Brandon Beane added TE O.J. Howard to the depth chart behind Knox.
And the new Bills TE does offer some size.
At 27 years old, the former first-round pick in 2017 by the Bucs is 6’6 and 251 lbs with 33 and 3/4 arms and 10 hands.
“I mean he’s a freak athlete,” Knox added. “He makes me feel small, I mean the dude’s like you know 6’6, his arms are massive. Just having another weapon like that’s just gonna make us that much harder to stop, so I think he’s just going to push me to be better too I think.”
Howard’s development at the pro level may have been stifled once he saw less on-field gameplay experience behind Buffalo native Rob Gronkowski in Tampa. With the Bills focus on player development in Buffalo and a team-friendly one-year pact between them, he will have that chance to take the next step as well.
“The better the room is as a whole, the better each individual is going to be as well,” Knox continued. “But it’s going to be fun to bring us in, run the ball some, then spread us out, get us good matchups on linebackers
Howard has the potential to compliment and offer position depth behind Knox, who has developed better movement and skills at the NFL level.
Howard can have difficulty on routes getting a jump and separation on defenders due to a lack of quickness in and out of breaks.
While he’ll be challenged to improve in those areas, one of the things that he offers the Bills offense and new OC Ken Dorsey is the ability to run more two-plus TE sets.
Per ESPN Stats & Information, the Bills ran only 100 plays with two-or-more tight ends during the 2021 season which was the lowest in the NFL.
Knox is confident Howard can be the addition that changes that.
“It’s just an extra piece that you know is going to be a nightmare to defend for defenses right? Oh yeah, we can’t wait. It’s going to be a nightmare for a lot of defenses.”
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