The Buffalo Bills continue to add to their restructured personnel and scouting department, hiring former NFL wide receiver Lake Dawson as their Assistant Director of College Scouting.
Dawson was a wide receiver for six years, registering statistics in four of those seasons. His best year as a player was in 1995, where he caught 40 passes for 513 yards and five touchdowns as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the Chiefs who made him a third-round selection in the 1994 NFL Draft. He played his college ball at Notre Dame.
Dawson’s experience as a scout and front office member is impressive for a relatively young (45 year old) man. He served as a scout with the Seattle Seahawks after his NFL career ended and was then named the Seahwaks’ Assistant Director of Pro Personnel. After six years with the Seahwaks, Dawson spent nine years in the Tennessee Titans’ front office, serving as Director of Pro Personnel, Vice President of Football Operations, and finally Vice President of Player Personnel. He spent the 2016 season as a National Scout for the Cleveland Browns.
Dawson has been linked to General Manager jobs in the past, and even interviewed for the Carolina Panthers’ GM job in 2013 that eventually went to Dave Gettleman. Coincidentally, new Bills GM Brandon Beane also interviewed for that position.
Beane was extremely complimentary of Dawson, noting that someone with his “experience and leadership...is a strong addition” to the team’s front office. Beane touted Dawson’s experience as a player as a tremendous plus, as well, noting that “you can’t match what a player who understands what players goes through and what makes good players.” “Character” and “background” continue to be a major emphasis, as Beane noted both of those as being something Dawson understands well.
Dawson continues a trend with the new Bills front office of hiring people with vast experience who are quite young. At this point, it almost seems to be a necessity that new hires have 15 or more years of experience in the NFL but are under the age of 50.
This definitely isn’t your grandfather’s Buffalo Bills, ladies and gentlemen.