Dion Dawkins

Dion Dawkins
refer to caption
Dawkins in 2022
No. 73 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1994-04-26) April 26, 1994 (age 30)
Rahway, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school:Rahway
College:Temple (2013–2016)
NFL draft:2017 / round: 2 / pick: 63
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2024
Games played:115
Games started:109
Receptions:2
Receiving yards:8
Receiving touchdowns:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Dion Dawkins (born April 26, 1994) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple.

Early life

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Dawkins attended Rahway High School in Rahway, New Jersey where he earned the nickname "the Shnowman."[1] After originally committing to the Cincinnati Bearcats, Dawkins signed with Temple in January 2013.[2]

College career

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Dawkins played at Temple from 2013 to 2016, starting 41 of 44 career games.[3][4][5] Dawkins was named a First-team All-American Athletic Conference selection after his senior year.

Professional career

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Dawkins received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and started at guard for the North team. The North lost 16–15 to the South and he was named the Senior Bowl's top offensive lineman. He improved his draft stock after practicing and performing well during the Senior Bowl.[6] He attended the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine drills and positional drills. At Temple's Pro Day, Dawkins opted to attempt the vertical jump again and added two inches to his number from the Combine. He performed well in the positional drills with 40 scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams scouting him and 13 other teammates, including Temple's feature prospect, Haason Reddick.[7] Dawkins had private workouts with four teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and Indianapolis Colts.[8] The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a second round pick.[9] He was ranked the second-best guard in the draft by Sports Illustrated, the third-best guard by ESPN, the third-best interior offensive lineman by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and the fourth-best offensive tackle by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks and NFLDraftScout.com.[10][11][12][13]

Dawkins with the Bills in 2018
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 3+7⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 		314 lb
(142 kg) 		35 in
(0.89 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 5.11 s 1.79 s 2.94 s 4.78 s 7.30 s 26 in
(0.66 m)		 8 ft 10 in
(2.69 m)		 26 reps
All values from NFL Combine.[14][15]

The Buffalo Bills selected Dawkins in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.[16] Dawkins was the second offensive guard drafted in 2017, behind Western Kentucky guard Forrest Lamp.[17]

On May 19, 2017, the Bills signed Dawkins to a four-year, $4.18 million contract with $1.83 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.18 million.[18] He played in all 16 games, starting 11 at left tackle in place of Cordy Glenn. Dawkins received an overall grade of 74.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.[19]

Dawkins entered training camp in 2018 slated as the starting left tackle after the Bills traded Cordy Glenn to the Cincinnati Bengals. Head coach Sean McDermott named Dawkins the starting left tackle to begin the regular season in 2018.[20] In Week 10 of the 2018 season, against the New York Jets, Dawkins caught his first career pass, a seven-yard touchdown from quarterback Matt Barkley.[21]

In Week 16 of the 2019 season, against the New England Patriots, Dawkins caught his second touchdown pass from Josh Allen.[22]

On August 13, 2020, Dawkins signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Bills that includes $34 million guaranteed.[23]

In 2021, he began training camp on the COVID-19 reserve list and needed some time to return to playing shape.[24] Dawkins later revealed that he spent four days in the hospital battling the disease calling it "one of the lowest points" of his life.[25] He was named to his first Pro Bowl for his accomplishments in the 2021 season.[26] He was ranked 96th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.[27]

On March 11, 2024, Dawkins signed a three-year, $60.5 million contract extension with the Bills through the 2027 season.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Baker, Kelly (August 15, 2018). "20 questions with Bills T Dion Dawkins". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  2. ^ Taylor, John (February 6, 2013). "Temple signs 23 to National Letters of Intent". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Kern, Mike (November 15, 2016). "Temple tackle Dawkins has made most of his chances". Inquirer.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ Morrison, Bob (November 18, 2016). "Overcoming Adversity: An Inside Look at Temple OT Dion Dawkins –". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Narducci, Marc (August 5, 2015). "Dawkins, facing assault trial, ready to contribute for Temple". Inquirer.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Berman, Zach (January 27, 2017). "Temple's Haason Reddick, Dion Dawkins stand out at Senior Bowl". Inquirer.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Wallen, Ryan (March 9, 2017). "Recap: Temple Pro Day 2017". 247Sports. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  8. ^ "Walter Football: 2017 NFL Draft Prospect Meetings/Visits". walterfootball.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Dion Dawkins Stats, News and Video – OT".
  10. ^ Burke, Chris (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL Draft Rankings: Top Prospects by Position". SI.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Legwold, Jeff (April 22, 2017). "Ranking 2017 Draft's Top 100 Players". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Mayock, Mike (April 12, 2017). "Mike Mayock's 2017 NFL Draft position rankings 3.0". NFL.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Brooks, Bucky (April 25, 2017). "Bucket Brooks' 2017 NFL Draft position rankings 3.0". NFL.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  14. ^ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Dion Dawkins". NFL.com.
  15. ^ "Temple OT Dion Dawkins: 2017 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  16. ^ "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  17. ^ Hamilton, Jake (April 28, 2017). "Bills make bold move to land OT Dawkins". BuffaloBills.com.
  18. ^ "Spotrac.com: Dion Dawkins". spotrac.com. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  19. ^ Gayle, Austin (May 25, 2018). "Second-year players primed for a breakout year in 2018". PFF. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  20. ^ "Ourlads.com: Buffalo Bills Depth Chart: 09/01/2018". Ourlads.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  21. ^ "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets – November 11th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  22. ^ "Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots – December 21st, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  23. ^ Patra, Kevin (August 13, 2020). "Bills sign LT Dion Dawkins to four-year, $60 million extension". NFL.com.
  24. ^ Alper, Josh (August 16, 2021). "Sean McDermott: Dion Dawkins "not close to where he needs to be" after stint on COVID-19 list". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  25. ^ Warren, Matt (August 17, 2021). "Dion Dawkins spent four days in the hospital with COVID-19". Buffalo Rumblings. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  26. ^ "2021 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  27. ^ Silagyi, Kyle (July 22, 2024). "Bills LT Dion Dawkins earns spot on NFL Top 100 players list for first time". SI.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  28. ^ White, Alec; Warren, Patrick (March 11, 2024). "Bills agree to terms with three-time Pro Bowl LT Dion Dawkins on contract extension". BuffaloBills.com.
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