The past two draft classes for the Buffalo Bills have been underwhelming, to say the least. When Brandon Beane first arrived in Buffalo, one of his biggest strengths was ability to find young talent that could develop and for the first couple of seasons with the Bills, Beane delivered solid talent.
In recent memory, that hasn’t been the case. In just the last two years, the players that he has drafted have either been hit with injuries, or severe lack of production/inconsistency.
This past April, the Bills delivered a heavy defensive draft where they traded up not once but twice for two defensive tackles. Buffalo didn’t draft offense until the 5th round, selecting tight end Jackson Hawes who has arguably been the Bills’ best rookie this season. While defensive tackle Deone Walker has been solid for the defense, Hawes is proving his worth the most.
Coming out of college, Hawes wasn’t a receiving tight end. However, he has made some big catches this season including a crucial 29-yard catch in Week 1 to get the Bills back into the game against the Ravens, and he got his first touchdown in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins. However, his blocking is what really stands out and he has become such an underrated player in that aspect.
Jackson Hawes continues to be Bills' best rookie from 2025 draft class
Lauren Gray from Pro Football Focus (PFF) - subscription required -had Hawes as the second best graded rookie from Week 6. Even though the Bills had a bad week, Hawes continued to impress. He posted a grade of 83.7, only behind Seahawks’ safety Nick Emmanwori.
"Despite recording a season-low PFF overall grade, Hawes is now tied for fifth in PFF pass-blocking grade (80.0). His PFF run-blocking grade, however, dipped to 72.4 (11th best)."Lauren Gray, PFF
His pass blocking has been great so far through six games, but there is still room for improvement. While Buffalo’s offense was bad, Hawes was one of the very few bright spots and he has been since the start of the season.
Who would have thought that a 5th round rookie tight end would be the best player in Buffalo’s draft class…while it’s great to have that kind of success, it speaks high volume about the disappointment from the rest of the class outside of Deone Walker.