Buffalo Bills: Sean McDermott encouraged by Dawson Knox’s offseason

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott met with the media on Thursday and had some positive things to say about Dawson Knox but also set high expectations.

The Buffalo Bills offense is expected to take that next step and move into the upper half of the league thanks to the development of Josh Allen plus the additions of Stefon Diggs and Zack Moss. However, one of the players that could make the most impactful, and is often forgotten, is tight end Dawson Knox.

The former third round pick is going to be entering his second year in the league and he is expected to play a key role in this offense. Recently, Sean McDermott met with the media and was asked about Dawson Knox and what realistic expectations are for his second year.

“Dawson’s [Knox] has had a good offseason to this point and we do expect a year of growth, a year of development obviously going from his first year to his second year,” McDermott said.

“Really encouraged by the way he has approached things, really encouraged by the way he has worked on his body this offseason from what it appears.”

The Buffalo Bills head coach went on to talk about the importance of the tight end position, especially to the quarterback. He mentioned Chad Lewis during his time in Philadelphia when Donovan McNabb was the quarterback and then Greg Olsen with Cam Newton while with the Carolina Panthers.

What does he have to improve on in Year 2?

Sean McDermott did mention what Dawson Knox needs to improve on in his second year and that was availability and consistency. The availability piece was likely reference to just staying healthy. Last year, Knox did miss time during training camp and that likely contributed to a slow start for him with only two receptions the first two weeks.

In Week 3, fans got to see what Dawson Knox could do in one of the more memorable plays last year when he stiff armed a Bengals defender on a long reception late in the game.

The other point that Sean McDermott made was about consistency, and this likely referring to the dropped passes that plagued Dawson Knox last year. Last year, Knox was credited with six drops according to Player Profile, which was the fourth most for tight ends. However, he had the highest drop rate among tight ends at 12%.

This year in particular is going to be critical for Knox to eliminate the number of drops because targets are going to be harder to come by. The additions of Stefon Diggs and Zack Moss to a group that already includes John Brown, Cole Beasley and Devin Singletary means the second year tight end must capitalize on every target he gets.