One rookie that the Buffalo Bills drafted that caused a lot of confusion was tight end Jackson Hawes out of Georgia Tech. The Bills drafted him in the 5th round and quite frankly, they could have gone with a different direction. He was the first offensive player that the team drafted, but the Bills were better with drafting a wide receiver, or maybe even a running back to develop should James Cook leave Buffalo after the 2025 season.
Coming out of Georgia Tech, Hawes is not a receiving tight end like Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid are. He’s more of a blocking tight end and it pretty much sealed the deal of any chance of Quintin Morris coming back to the Bills (now he’s with the Jaguars). It will be interesting to see how he performs throughout the rest of the summer and in the preseason.
Rookie TE Jackson Hawes is getting some love (both from teammates and coaches)
Up to this point though, Hawes is impressing both his teammates and coaches. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady talked about how “Jackson is the type of guy you want when the pads come on.." per Alex Brasky. Brady also said that Hawes is "as nasty as they come."
Joe Brady on #Bills rookie TE Jackson Hawes: “Jackson is the type of guy you want when the pads come on.. He’s brilliant, an Ivy League guy, but when the pads come on, he’s as nasty as they come.” #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/3ZU7DZPURw
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) July 29, 2025
In addition to Brady giving Hawes some credit, offensive lineman Connor McGovern also talked highly about Hawes on One Bills Live with Chris Brown and Steve Tasker. Specifically, McGovern talked about how Hawes “has looked like he’s been here for three or four years”.
McGovern also talked about how Hawes made two impressive blocks on the same play against Greg Rousseau and Matt Milano. Here’s the clip on what McGovern said about Hawes:
Who has impressed #Bills center Connor McGovern the most through the first week of camp??🔊⬇️
— One Bills Live (@OneBillsLive) July 29, 2025
"It was insane to see...for a rookie"#Billsmafia pic.twitter.com/1aOJ3AgjLY
I know it’s early in camp and Hawes won’t be anything more than the third tight end, but with Brady and McGovern taking notice about his work ethic, Hawes could be a diamond in the rough that no one saw coming. He will be a player that fans will want to watch throughout the summer and going into Week 1.