There is no doubt that Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills knocked it out of the park in the 2025 NFL Draft. They went into the draft with ten picks, and they came out with nine players where a majority of them were on defense. Beane sent a message with his picks; Good luck playing against the Buffalo defense in 2025.
It’s clear as day that the Bills were looking to get more defensive help than anything. It also helps that after what we saw last year on offense that was led by Josh Allen, who mind you is the reigning MVP, the Bills didn’t need to draft a lot of offensive help.
In free agency, they acquired more receiving weapons in Joshua Palmer and most recently, Elijah Moore. They brought back Ty Johnson in the backfield, and they also signed a receiver in Laviska Shenault who has a chance to be the main kick returner for the Bills’ special teams unit.
During the draft, the Bills drafted wideout Kaden Prather who should be considered to compete for special teams opportunities. They also brought in UConn offensive lineman Chase Lundt who could become a sneaky great pickup for the offensive line. However, neither of them were Buffalo’s first pick on offense. In the fifth round, the Bills drafted a blocking tight end in Jackson Hawes out of Georgia Tech.
The drafting of Hawes didn’t make a lot of sense for various factors. First, the Bills already have Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, and Zach Davidson. Maybe Hawes will beat out Davidson for TE3 spot, but the Bills could have gone in a different direction in the fifth round. In addition, the Bills needed more pass-catching options for Josh Allen. Hawes is not that.
CBS Sports lists TE Jackson Hawes as more questionable pick for Bills
Josh Edwards from CBS Sports listed all of the questionable picks for each NFL team and Edwards was right on point when it came to the Bills’ pick, which was Hawes.
"Hawes is predominantly a blocker, so the usage of a fifth-round pick on that role may be a little rich. As far as roster building is concerned, he does make sense as a potential off-ramp to Dawson Knox's contract. "Josh Edwards, CBS Sports
Clearly, the Bills see something with Hawes that they feel like that could be impactful for the roster. However, outside of the blocking abilities, what is it? Buffalo should’ve gone in a different direction and wait to see if Hawes potentially fell to the sixth round.
We’ll see how Hawes performs in training camp to start his career and while he has a better chance to make the final 53-man roster over someone like Zach Davidson just due to the rookie contract alone, it could really become a waste of a spot if he isn’t a fantastic blocking tight end in the league.