In the most Buffalo way possible, Mississippi tight end Dawson Knox confirmed he met with the Buffalo Bills’ brass before the 2019 NFL Draft, April 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn.
Sharing a post to his Instagram story, Knox’s image featured chicken wings and a Buffalo, N.Y. tag. The Bills also reportedly held a private workout with Knox, who is projected as a day-two selection in the draft.
Knox, a two-year contributor for the Rebels, averaged nearly 19 yards per catch in 2018, hauling in 15 receptions for 284 yards. During the 2017 season, Knox started nine of ten games, catching 24 passes for 321 yards while averaging 13.4 yards per catch.
Listed at 6’4” and 254 lbs, Knox—a quarterback in high school—walked onto the team at Ole Miss. He impressed at the NFL Combine, recording the fourth-best time among tight ends in the three-cone drill (7.12 seconds) and sixth in the vertical jump (34.5 inches).
If the Bills are unable to land this year’s top tight-end prospects (Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr., and Texas A&M’s Jace Sternberger), Knox could be a nice consolation prize on day two of the draft.
According to NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein, Knox has an “outstanding combination of measurables and traits, but he’s much more moldable clay than game-ready prospect at this point. Knox lacks early speed and short-area quickness which could limit his ability to uncover underneath but he’s much more dangerous when allowed to roam the middle of the field as a more linear route-worker. His pass-catching production may never match up with the testing numbers, but his aggressiveness and talent as a run-blocker could provide him work as a combo tight end for years to come.”