It hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t been perfect for Bills tight end Dawson Knox during his rookie season.
Knox has had some issues with drops, but when he does grab the ball, they’ve been exciting plays. His effort after the Bengals earlier this year is still in contention for the catch of the season for the Bills.
While Knox, and everyone else wants him to cut the drops out, those drops have inadvertently made him believe Buffalo is a good place for him to be.
After struggles, Knox has bounced back. He gives credit for his bounce-back efforts to his teammates around him, he told NYUP.com this week. Last week against the Ravens, there was a drop. Later in the game, there was a great catch. Knox mentioned everyone but himself as to why he was resilient.
“Having guys like (Cole Beasley), Lee Smith, Tyler Kroft – I feel like it’s a really special place to be here,” Knox said.
Following the Bills’ loss to the Ravens, Beasley told reporters he got in Knox’s ear and told him to keep his head up, his team will need him later. Beasley was right, and Knox delivered.
The teammate-building efforts in the Bills locker room is something you can’t teach a player. Picking each other up is a trait the Bills front office of general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have coveted in players. In this case, it’s paid off. Even offensive coordinator Brian Daboll thinks so, as he reflected on Knox’s play earlier this week.
“It’s not always going to be perfect. You’re going to have to fight through some things, whether it’s a young player or old player. And Dawson in this case – he’s a strong-minded guy,” Daboll said. “I have a lot of confidence in him. Just play the next play.”
With three games left, Knox has 26 catches for 344 yards with two scores this year. He’s a raw rookie prospect who hadn’t scored a touchdown since high school. All things considered, those are some decent numbers then. The Bills will hope Knox continually improves on his numbers over the years, but they can also count on Knox learning the proper way to be a teammate years down the road thanks to the current crop of Bills vets.
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