Pro Football Focus’ rankings for tight ends has the Buffalo Bills’ Dawson Knox too low
Pro Football Focus continues to move through each of the positions and ranks the players in the league. For some Buffalo Bills players, like Stefon Diggs, they were ranked in the right spot while for other players, like Dion Dawkins, it seems too low.
When looking at the rankings for tight ends, Dawson Knox would seem to be similar to Dawkins in that they are overlooked and ranked too low. Recently, he was ranked only 12th at tight end in the tier titled “Best of the Rest” by Anthony Treash:
"No quarterback found more success targeting a tight end than Josh Allen with Dawson Knox in 2021. That connection garnered a 130.5 passer rating last season, the highest of any QB-TE duo for the year. The 6-foot-4, 254-pound Knox thrived downfield with six touchdowns over 10 yards downfield in regular-season action (second-most among tight ends). And Knox did that despite suffering a broken hand midway through the season, an injury that kept him out a handful of games. While his ceiling is in question and there’s reason to believe some of his 2021 production numbers could regress in 2022, Knox brings a well-rounded athletic profile and a known floor to the table."
While it would be unrealistic to have Knox in the elite category with players like Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews there were a few tight ends that were surprisingly ahead of the Bills’ tight end.
Entering 2022, and based on their performance last season, Dawson Knox should have been ahead of players like T.J. Hockensen, Hunter Henry, and Pat Freiermuth.
The Buffalo Bills drafted Dawson Knox in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft and he struggled with drops his first two years with 14 during that stretch.
Last season, Knox improved in that area with a career-low drop percentage of 5.6% and in turn had a breakout season with 49 receptions, 587 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns. The receiving touchdown total was tied for the league lead at his position with the New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry.
However, he was able to reach those two totals in two fewer games than Henry due to Knox suffering a broken hand against the Tennessee Titans earlier in the season.
The biggest difference between my opinion and where Treash is with the rankings is that he believes there is a reason to believe he could regress. However, Dawson Knox once again should be a big part of this offense in 2022 and he should come close to matching, if not surpassing, his season totals from last year.