Buffalo Bills appear to be committing to Dawson Knox at tight end

Jul 28, 2021; Orchard Park, NY, United States; Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox (88) catches a pass during practice at the Buffalo Bills Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2021; Orchard Park, NY, United States; Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox (88) catches a pass during practice at the Buffalo Bills Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /
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While there is still plenty that can change between now and the regular season, the moves on Tuesday seem to indicate that the Buffalo Bills are committed to Dawson Knox as their starting tight end for this season.

After the team released veteran Jacob Hollister, along with Nate Becker and Quintin Morris, it looks as if Knox will be seeing a majority of the snaps at the position. The Bills do still have Tommy Sweeney, who looked good this preseason, but he may be more of a blocking tight end. They also have Reggie Gilliam, who played tight end last year but moved to fullback this season. He is unlikely to play much at tight end unless there is an injury.

This leaves Knox to be almost exclusively the player at the position and part of a high-volume passing offense. The question is just how much the third-year tight end is going to see in terms of targets? The past two seasons, Knox has had 94 targets and caught 52 for 676 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Could Buffalo Bills be moving to more four-wide receiver sets?

The Buffalo Bills also could be de-prioritizing the tight end position and with the depth at wide receiver as deep as it is, this could mean offensive coordinator Brian Daboll wants to play more four wide receiver sets.

If this is the case it makes sense to keep the number of tight ends on the 53-man roster at a minimum and gaining depth at other places, like on the offensive or defensive line.

Next. Buffalo Bills release three, including Brandon Powell. dark

The hope was that this season would be the year that Dawson Knox breaks out for the Buffalo Bills after they selected him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. It would appear based on this initial 53-man roster that they will be giving the tight end every chance to show that.