Buffalo Bills: A rapid reaction and grade of the Dawson Knox pick
The Buffalo Bills traded both fourth-round picks to move back into the third and take an athletic tight end who had limited production but shows potential.
The 2019 tight end class is one of the best in recent history. There are several players that could become starters in the league.
The problem with the tight end position is the amount of time it takes to learn the position. There is a learning curve at this position unlike any other and rarely do rookies come in and make an immediate impact.
The Buffalo Bills opted to take an athletic guy that may be the rawest of the bunch.
Prospect Analysis
Dawson Knox is a hard evaluation. He comes from a program that was loaded with offensive talent on the outside. Starting receivers A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf were drafted in the second round while Knox was taken in the third.
He was rarely used as a pass-catching option in the system run at Ole Miss. He mainly struggled to get into rhythm due to a lack of targets and inconsistent quarterback play. Also, the route running required in the system was rudimentary at best, which does not help his transition to the NFL.
When he did get the ball, he showed enough to warrant NFL consideration. He demonstrated nice hand-eye coordination and adjusted well to poorly thrown balls. He also showed enough explosion to create match-up problems on linebackers in coverage.
He is a raw talent that will need coaching on the basics to become a starting tight end in the league.
Projection
Like I said earlier, tight ends have a hard time transitioning to the next level. It takes several years for guys to adjust to the speed and strength of the opposition and find their base. This will most likely be the case with Knox.
He is as raw as it gets, so this should be looked at as a roll of the dice. Knox has the athletic skills to be a good starter in the league, but will he get the coaching and growth needed to ensure success?
In year one he will need to get reps and make them count. The more playing time he gets, the faster he can grow. I don’t see any crazy immediate impact in year one, but using him as a weapon in the red zone can lead to some confidence building.
A rapid reaction and grade for the Devin Singletary pick. dark. Next