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TE Dawson Knox, BUF (1 Viewer)

Interseptopus

Footballguy
I couldnt find a thread on him, but I think it's time 

With Kroft's broken foot, this opens the door to Knox to really make a case for some playing time

The Buffalo WR group leaves a bit to be desired; I know I'm having a hard time identifying who may be the guy to own. 

Knox may be the most dynamic pass catcher on the field, so it's possible for him to make a rare impact as a rookie te. 

 
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According to Rapport, Kroft had surgery yesterday and could be out 3-4 months. It's the same foot he hurt with Cincinnati last year. He is likely to start the season on the PUP

 
I couldnt find a thread on him, but I think it's time 

With Kroft's broken foot, this opens the door to Knox to really make a case for some playing time

The Buffalo WR group leaves a bit to be desired; I know I'm having a hard time identifying who may be the guy to own. 

Knox may be the most dynamic pass catcher on the field, so it's possible for him to make a rare impact as a rookie te. 
I'm not so sure - they have a fairly inaccurate QB, who's best suited to throw the ball deep. They don't have any great individual WRs but they already have a fairly decent short area guy in Beasley and some guys that play to their QBs strengths in Foster, Brown and Jones.

He's worth a flier (since he goes late in rookie drafts) but it's hard to get overly excited about him or his situation,

 
Really good athlete, nice size, solid situation, has a few ardent supporters in scouting community the biggest one being Jim Nagy who had him as his #3 TE in the draft and thought he was a borderline round one prospect.

My biggest issue with him is I don't think he catches the ball very well. Considering how few catches he made in college an alarming amount I saw, and I did not see all of them, he failed to catch the ball cleanly.  Reports from his initial rookie OTA was one Bills beat writer saying he fought the ball and another just saying he had issue catching the ball.

Vance Mcdonald level prospect if he can get more consistent catching the ball.

As a side note the Bills were one of 5 teams to place a claim on Jordan Leggett yesterday.

 
Really good athlete, nice size, solid situation, has a few ardent supporters in scouting community the biggest one being Jim Nagy who had him as his #3 TE in the draft and thought he was a borderline round one prospect.

My biggest issue with him is I don't think he catches the ball very well. Considering how few catches he made in college an alarming amount I saw, and I did not see all of them, he failed to catch the ball cleanly.  Reports from his initial rookie OTA was one Bills beat writer saying he fought the ball and another just saying he had issue catching the ball.

Vance Mcdonald level prospect if he can get more consistent catching the ball.

As a side note the Bills were one of 5 teams to place a claim on Jordan Leggett yesterday.
I appreciate this perspective. I worry Knox is a Gesicki 2.0 where he is a great athlete but a poor TE. He could also be like Kittle, taking advantage of a pretty good QB without much to throw to as far as WRs go. 

 
Totally different style from Gesicki, who is a tall/linear player like Fant. Gesicki is the type who tests well, but doesn't move well on the field. Very straight-line in his athleticism. Knox is a better athlete in terms of quickness, strength, and agility. Stronger lower body than Gesicki. He is more like a Cooley type.

Expecting anything from rookie TEs is usually folly, so the Kroft injury doesn't really matter much to me, but long-term I think Knox is a good prospect. I got him in one rookie draft and made a huge waiver claim to get him in another league. Very good value at his low ADP.

I've said it elsewhere, but the value-per-cost of that Warring/Knox/Oliver trio of 3rd round TEs is very good in most leagues right now. IMO they are better prospects than many of the RB/WR selected ahead of them, though obviously you have to factor in positional value.

 
Totally different style from Gesicki, who is a tall/linear player like Fant. Gesicki is the type who tests well, but doesn't move well on the field. Very straight-line in his athleticism. Knox is a better athlete in terms of quickness, strength, and agility. Stronger lower body than Gesicki. He is more like a Cooley type.

Expecting anything from rookie TEs is usually folly, so the Kroft injury doesn't really matter much to me, but long-term I think Knox is a good prospect. I got him in one rookie draft and made a huge waiver claim to get him in another league. Very good value at his low ADP.

I've said it elsewhere, but the value-per-cost of that Warring/Knox/Oliver trio of 3rd round TEs is very good in most leagues right now. IMO they are better prospects than many of the RB/WR selected ahead of them, though obviously you have to factor in positional value.
I know this is OT, but if you don't mind, can you expand on this comparision? Fant is the same height as Knox and seems extremely fluid to me. 

 
I'm not so sure - they have a fairly inaccurate QB, who's best suited to throw the ball deep. They don't have any great individual WRs but they already have a fairly decent short area guy in Beasley and some guys that play to their QBs strengths in Foster, Brown and Jones.

He's worth a flier (since he goes late in rookie drafts) but it's hard to get overly excited about him or his situation,
Allen is my main concern with this offense as well.  My belief is that he could be a Lamar Jackson lite, but the bills are going to try to make him into a pocket passer.

 
wgoldsph said:
Allen is my main concern with this offense as well.  My belief is that he could be a Lamar Jackson lite, but the bills are going to try to make him into a pocket passer.
I wasn’t an Allen fan as a prospect but he was better than I expected last season, but not great at all. He does throw the ball deep and can run so for fantasy I like him, but I agree even outside of fantasy the Bills would be making a mistake if they try and make him a pocket passer. Take advantage of what he is, a much better passing Tim Tebow.

 
Dr. Dan said:
I appreciate this perspective. I worry Knox is a Gesicki 2.0 where he is a great athlete but a poor TE. He could also be like Kittle, taking advantage of a pretty good QB without much to throw to as far as WRs go. 
I was low on Gesicki last year and often on these boards comped him to Coby Fleener, both tested amazing but as someone who invested wrongly in Fleener when I watched Gesicki it was like a flashback, their lack of physicality bordering on being soft at the catch point really seemed way to similar for me to ignore.  I would not describe Knox as soft at all. He's just super raw, did not play TE until college after being mainly a QB in HS, his hands are shaky and I'm not sure he's developed some instincts for the position like knowing soft spots in a zone to sit, he's not a nuanced route runner IMO.  I'm not sure why he decided to come out early, seems like he could have really used a year and with the trio of starting WR's leaving would have possibly been more featured.

If that sounds like I don't like him I'd add he's one of my most drafted players in TE premium dynasty rookie drafts,  but part of that is due to fact he was really good value as no earlier then the 7th rookie TE off the board and when I drafted him it was late 4th-6th round.  I do like his athletic traits,  his physicality and he looks like a beast with the ball in his hands. He's a nice piece of TE clay but he's going to need some molding. I just hope I see enough from him in camp to carve out a roster spot for him.

 
I wasn’t an Allen fan as a prospect but he was better than I expected last season, but not great at all. He does throw the ball deep and can run so for fantasy I like him, but I agree even outside of fantasy the Bills would be making a mistake if they try and make him a pocket passer. Take advantage of what he is, a much better passing Tim Tebow.
Tebow had God on his side, which is something no other player does.

 
Concept Coop said:
I know this is OT, but if you don't mind, can you expand on this comparision? Fant is the same height as Knox and seems extremely fluid to me. 
Knox is a little bit heavier and listed height/weights don't always tell you everything about body type since limb proportion can vary. You can have two players with the same dimensions on paper, but maybe one of them has relatively long legs for his height, etc. That can affect how the athlete moves.

Fant is straight line explosive, but not an overly agile or elusive athlete. If you watch his clips, mostly he is winning on vertical routes and rounded breaks. He doesn't have elite mobility for a TE. He is more of a strider. More athletic with more base strength and agility, but cut from the same cloth as Funchess and Gesicki. He and Njoku are similar. Both want to win by exploiting their length and not necessarily by shaking people on sharp breaks or in space.

Example #1: https://youtu.be/Vo2tFRc85EI?t=77

He catches the ball near the sideline with more than 10 yards separating him from the incoming tackler, but despite having the time and space to make a move, he is unable to suddenly redirect his momentum and instead opts to barrel right into the defender.

Example #2: https://youtu.be/Vo2tFRc85EI?t=297

He catches the ball with a chance to make a move. He makes a pretty good cut, but still gets tackled by the first man.

This is par for the course to some extent with TEs because they sacrifice mobility for size. Gronk was not an elusive player. Kelce is not a very shifty guy. For that matter, neither was Calvin Johnson. There are other ways to beat a defender and Fant has good north-south explosiveness and length for a TE. I think he is a better version of Gesicki and a better prospect than Knox, but I'd rate his mobility below the best TEs I've evaluated (Eifert, Ebron, Hurst).

Just pulling up one Hurst highlight reel shows some plays that Fant probably can't make:

Plant and drive quickness in a small window to elude a tackler: https://youtu.be/rqhFG2IxqGI?t=75

This cut here (watch the replay too): https://youtu.be/rqhFG2IxqGI?t=162

Handling the ball on a reverse: https://youtu.be/rqhFG2IxqGI?t=184

That last play is nothing incredible, but that's your 250+ pound TE getting CARRIES in the running game. Very unusual athleticism.

I still have Hockenson and Fant rated above the other TEs in this draft, but what makes it interesting is the relative value-per-cost. Both of those guys tend to come off the board relatively high, usually within the first 10-15 picks. On the other hand, I've gotten Warring, Oliver, and Knox in the 3rd-4th round of many leagues. I think the first round guys are better prospects, but I think the third round guys are better value, if that makes sense.

Knox is tougher to evaluate than some guys because they used him so sparingly as a pass catcher, but I like what I see. He has the prototypical height/weight/speed/explosiveness and on the field you see a loose athlete who runs on a swivel and has good hip flexibility. I'm not going to get carried away with a projection, but this is a guy you can stash for a very low entry cost who probably has top 10-12 TE upside in FF leagues.

In TE-premium I would take him over many of the 2nd-3rd round WRs.

 
4 things we learned from Week 2 of OTAs

Excerpt:

The two more noticeable players stepping into first team roles during the team segments of practice Tuesday were Dawson Knox and Cody Ford.

Knox, has been running with the first team for the better part of the last week after Jason Croom joined Tyler Kroft on the injured list last Tuesday.

The third-round pick has taken advantage of the reps and is making plays in the passing game.

On the third play from scrimmage during a 9 vs. 9 team segment, Josh Allen found Knox on a crossing route for a touchdown for a 25-yard scoring play.

“It went well. I love catching from Josh. He was actually out in California this offseason throwing a little bit and I got a chance to catch with him. I obviously at the time didn’t know I was going to be here, but it was good to establish that chemistry early.”

Knox has definitely shown off his ability to cover a lot of ground quickly on his routes as he gained good separation on a handful of assignments. He deftly toed the sideline on a throw from Allen during 11-on-11 while reaching above his head to make the catch for a 15-yard pickup. And in red zone he pulled in a nice crossing route from Allen to set up what would’ve been a first-and-goal situation.

“Ultimately just finding my identity more and more in this offense and who I am and what I can do and bring all that together to make plays. And then things unfold in training camp when we get there.”

“We’ve had some tight ends go down recently, but guys have stepped up,” said Zay Jones, who had another strong day himself. “One person in particular has been Dawson (Knox). I think he’s doing a great job right now. Guys are coming in and making plays in this offense.”

 
Casting Couch said:
Greatest value pick in rookie drafts, I believe he will excel as the starting TE for BUF.
trying to find a spot for him on my roster as te4. My league hates TEs it seems, so trade value is low if I wanted to shop him

 
Expecting anything from rookie TEs is usually folly, so the Kroft injury doesn't really matter much to me, but long-term I think Knox is a good prospect.
I agree with this most of the time but this particular injury to Kroft actually put Knox much higher on my radar.

The Kroft contract seemed absurd at signing(3yr/$19mil) but in a lot of ways it was $5mil for 2019 and he would have to earn a bump in pay in 2020. His pay is set to jump to $6.6mil in 2020 but the dead money for cutting him is only $1.6mil so if they don't feel like he's earned the 2020 portion they can save $5mil in 2020 by cutting him. Now that he's missing all that time not just with the playbook but gaining chemistry with QB/Blockers is really going to make it difficult for Kroft to be effective for the first quarter of the season. Keep in mind it's lower body as well so I'm sure he'll be doing pool work but he won't be in football shape when does come back. This injury and salary structure on his contract could easily lead to a one-and-done situation in BUF unless he's willing to take a pay cut.

Of course the other side of that optimism is this offense seems to have been constructed with all the precision of a sawed off shotgun. The top 10 receivers on this team could be in almost any order. I can't wait to see the projections by the experts. Gentleman, show me your dart boards!

 
4 key takeaways from the first two weeks of OTAs

Excerpt:

1. A ROOKIE MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Third round draft pick Dawson Knox has already impressed in his first three weeks on the job. His speed is evident, and he’s displayed athleticism in the rookie workouts and OTAS. His quarterback, Josh Allen, had early praise for Knox’s familiarity with the playbook in the May practices.

Knox says the last three weeks, since he arrived in Buffalo, have been eye-opening.

“I didn’t really know quite what to expect in terms of practice and the daily schedule,” Knox said this week, in an appearance on One Bills Live. “I feel like I’ve really gotten used to the ins and outs of meetings and what practice looks like. I’ve gotten comfortable and it’s been a great process so far.”

Knox considers himself an underdog and he says it’s an approach that served him well going back to his college football career.

“I walked on at Ole Miss, and that mentality has been what has defined me as a football player,” he says.  “I want to come in and outwork anyone that’s in front of me and to do what they ask of me. There’s a lot of things I can’t control and a lot of things out of my reach, but whatever opportunity I’m given, I want to make the most of it.”

 
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4. BUF - Dawson Knox turning heads

Source: BuffaloBills.com - John Murphy

Buffalo Bills TE Dawson Knox has impressed his teammates with his speed and athleticism during OTAs, according to John Murphy of BuffaloBills.com, and QB Josh Allen praised Knox for how quickly he has picked up the playbook.

[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ FOOTBALLGUYS VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

Knox was one of the most athletic tight ends in the draft but fell to late third round because of injuries and playing with three NFL prospects at wide receiver at Ole Miss. The Bills signed Tyler Kroft in free agency but he broke his foot in OTAs, giving Knox an opportunity to play a much larger role in the offense in his rookie year if he continues to impress.
 
ABC Buffalo has been impressed with third-round TE Dawson Knox's performance in spring practices.

Reporter Joe Buscaglia joins the Bills' in-house website with his glowing assessment of Knox's offseason work thus far. Per Buscaglia, Knox has already built an "excellent little rapport" with Josh Allen. "The one thing that you can't ignore, even for spring, is how often it seems Allen is looking for him," Buscaglia said in a Tuesday dispatch. The seam is a wide open competition for the Bills.

SOURCE: ABC Buffalo

Jun 11, 2019, 5:31 PM ET
 
Not to put the cart ahead of the horse here, but its not like there is some amazing wr talent in buffalo. Knox has potential to work himself into being a reliable target

 
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Got my first offer for Knox today.  He's the most minor piece in the deal but people want him as a throw in.  His value is higher than it was a month ago easily.  

 
The Buffalo News believes third-round TE Dawson Knox has a chance to start Week 1.

Knox got first-team reps with Tyler Kroft (foot) sidelined at OTAs. A two-year starter for Ole Miss, Knox is raw and struggles as a blocker, but he has a clear path to snaps in Buffalo. Knox's seam-stretching ability is a strong fit in a Josh Allen offense.

SOURCE: Buffalo News

Jul 6, 2019, 9:57 AM ET
 
Went undrafted in my rookie draft, but I managed to get him in the veteran draft last week. I like his chances to be a decent TE2 with upside right out of the gate. The talent is easily there and there's really no one else on that team commanding a ton of targets. 

 
Caveat 1)  Waller's put on ~15-20 pounds since the combine -- there's likely some slippage in the #s as a result

Caveat 2)  He's transitioning to TE at 26 years old

Caveat 3)  He's been suspended 16 games in is career so far

With those out of the way... at 255 he has the build and athletic profile of Greg Olsen.  Which is only to say he does have the physical tools to play the position (even with weight-related slippage mentioned above).  I'd rather take a shot on a big ceiling guy like him than some of the other darts you can find.  And if he flames out, you'll know early -- it's an easy cut.

 
Conan Troutman said:
Went undrafted in my rookie draft, but I managed to get him in the veteran draft last week. I like his chances to be a decent TE2 with upside right out of the gate. The talent is easily there and there's really no one else on that team commanding a ton of targets. 
how many picks are in your draft?

 
I'll be targeting him late in all drafts. As people say, can't expect much out of rookie TE's but what I like is that it seems like he's going to have a lot more opportunity than most rookie TE's do so we'll have a better chance to see if he can flash and possibly cut bait on him earlier if needed.

 
Bills third-round TE Dawson Knox (hamstring) won't practice Sunday.

He suffered the injury at Saturday's practice. For now, the Bills are just calling it a case of "hamstring soreness." Soft-tissue injuries can linger, though the Bills don't sound overly concerned. With Tyler Kroft (foot) on PUP and Jason Croom (hamstring) also hurt, Buffalo's tight end corps is pretty thin right now.

SOURCE: Jay Skurski on Twitter

Jul 28, 2019, 10:07 AM ET
 
Bills coach Sean McDermott said TE Dawson Knox (hamstring) is "getting better."

Knox hasn't practiced since going down in late July. He remains without a timetable to return, but he's trending in the right direction. Knox was gaining some hype as a potential Week 1 starter, but he's missing valuable training camp reps.

SOURCE: Joe Buscaglia on Twitter

Aug 10, 2019, 9:06 AM ET

 
Bills TE Dawson Knox (hamstring) has been cleared for limited practice.

Knox was shut down since late July with a soft-tissue injury. He resumed running routes, but hasn't been cleared for team drills. Knox was looking like a frontrunner to start but the missed time is a setback to his early season role. With Tyler Kroft (foot) and Jason Croom (hamstring) also hurt, Buffalo's tight end situation is a mess.

SOURCE: Joe Buscaglia on Twitter

Aug 17, 2019, 10:42 AM ET

 
Kroft in a walking boot today due to that ankle injury Friday. Looks like Knox probably going to keep getting his opportunity.

 
Dawson Knox caught 3-of-4 targets for 67 yards and a touchdown in Week 3 against the Bengals.

Knox wasn't a factor the first two weeks, catching two passes for 19 yards. He got most of his production on a highlight 49-yard catch where he broke multiple tackles. Knox was a Combine standout and ran 4.57 at his Pro Day, so it's not hard to see him parlay this game into a full-time role on an injured and middling tight end depth chart. With Tyler Kroft (ankle) dealing with a setback, Knox is one of this week's top waiver adds.

Sep 22, 2019, 5:32 PM ET

 

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