The NFL is a pendulum, always swinging back and forth. Teams go through cycles where they covet speed, and then they sway back to wanting bigger and more powerful players. And once those players get exposed for not being quick enough, well, you get the picture.
That cycle has happened for decades in the NFL, and we are in the midst of another change. The late 2010s and early 2020s saw teams using three or more receivers at a time at a record rate. The league became more wide-open, and we saw passing numbers skyrocket.
But the 2025 season was the year teams started to lean into more tight ends. And you can make an argument that no player in the 2026 draft was more influential than Jackson Hawes of the Buffalo Bills and it’s not hard to understand why.
Jackson Hawes is the secret superstar for the Bills
In a recent Bleacher Report article written by Brent Sobleski, he named every team’s best-kept secret heading into the 2026 season. For the Bills, that was none other than Jackson Hawes. After a successful 2025 season in which Hawes became one of the league’s best blocking tight ends, it inspired several teams to target tight ends early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
There were nine tight ends selected inside the top 95 selections this year, and multiple of the tight ends picked barely had any college production. It’s very similar to Hawes, who had 16 career receptions in college. A great example is the Jaguars reaching on Nate Boerkircher at No. 56 overall, who had 38 total receptions in five college seasons.
Sobleski explained how the Bills were way ahead of the tight end curve by selecting Hawes late in the 2025 NFL Draft. And after a wildly successful rookie season, he’s suddenly one of the most important players in Buffalo’s offense:
“By drafting Hawes a year earlier, the Bills landed the best pure blocker among the last two classes and got him at a discounted price, considering half-a-dozen inline options were taken between this year's second and fourth rounds. Hawes is a tone-setter and trendsetter as a blocking tight end, with some upside to contribute in Buffalo's passing attack.”
Hawes isn’t a prolific receiver as he only had 16 receptions for 187 yards last season. And it would be tough to assume that his numbers will grow greatly in 2026. But that’s okay. The Bills don’t need him to be a dynamic receiver for him to have value. Hawes is one of the best blocking tight ends in the league and he can be used as a traditional tight end, an H-back, a full-back, or however Joe Brady decides to use him.
Hawes is the ultimate “glue-guy” on offense for the Bills as he helps the run game and can be used as a pass blocker, if needed. And if he can make any improvements as a receiver this offseason, he could end up being a full-time player for Brady in 2026.
Pairing him with Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox gives the Bills three tight ends that defense has trouble matching up with in any given week. And all three have different skill sets, which is why Hawes is one of the best-kept secrets in the NFL going into the 2026 season.
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