What to do with Dawson Knox

[Thurman#1]

We absolutely stick with him. Why wouldn't you, unless three or four guys beat him out, and that won't happen next year.

 

Beyond that, do we address the position if the draft leaves us a good option? Yeah, sure, maybe.  If the BPA is TE, OK. I doubt it'll be top three rounds, though. Too many other more pressing needs.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Thurman#1

[BisonMan]

I still like Knox. I'm not sure but I think his drops are down this year from last year (when I think he led the league!). He made two critical catches last night that had high difficulty ratings. The catch on 4th down with a DB crawling over his back was a great grab. The better catch was the sideline "Toe Drag Swag" catch on a Josh rollout. Great throw and great catch. Best of all, it gave me my video clip of the year after the Pats challenged that catch:

 

 

If Knox can make BB do this once a year, I still want him on my team!!! 🤣

[Bob in STL]

He is our best TE right now and we stick with him.  
 

i do expect Beane to always be looking for ways to improve the team and TE is an area to consider in the future. 

[bobobonators]

5 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

Since you know it has been talked about many times - call up the old thread and add thoughts rather than start over.  
 

I see no real way they are spending a high pick on TE.  They will have 5 on the roster already for next year even after letting Kroft go.  4 of them will be on rookie deals or minimum pay - so you are not saving money and this team is about developing talent and I think they will keep trying to develop players.  Plus Josh seems to really love Knox - so I imagine that helps also.

 

The Bills should be using early picks on DE, CB, OL, and LB to fill needs based upon FA losses.  If a TE falls big time and is the best player on the board - then go ahead - I just don’t see that being even a top 5 need for this team going forward.

Outside of Knox, none of the TE on the roster could be considered a viable pass-catching threat. 
 

TE is a top 5 need for this team. What happens to this offense if Diggs gets injured? We already cant run the ball effectively. This is an aerial attack offense, which I love. As such, we need a reliable threat at TE. Im not saying that’s our biggest need, but certainly top 5 on the team and arguably our biggest need on offense. 
 

I agree about adding to the oline. At this point, you go all in on Allen and this offense for the next couple of seasons in my opinion. Try to keep the defense respectable, but not at the expense of the offense. 

[Doc]

Josh kept going back to him after the drop. 

[Don Otreply]

I’ve read over over on this board that TE is one of the harder positions to learn and become proficient at, being that is likely the case, and that those who make the decisions appear to disagree with the Knox has to go crowd, one might surmise that Knox isn’t going anywhere soon.
 

His potential is still so high in the eyes of the coaches that they are not willing to give up on him and are not done grooming him.

 

Y’all gonna have to get comfortable with this being the most likely course for some time to come. 

 

Go Bills!!!

[ALLEN1QB]

29 minutes ago, golfball323 said:

The Bills need their Kelce. Go get him...

Is he in this draft?

[bobobonators]

2 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

We absolutely stick with him. Why wouldn't you, unless three or four guys beat him out, and that won't happen next year.

 

Beyond that, do we address the position if the draft leaves us a good option? Yeah, sure, maybe.  If the BPA is TE, OK. I doubt it'll be top three rounds, though. Too many other more pressing needs.

I totally agree to stick with him this season. If anything he has been improving. My original post was more in terms of looking at next season bc of the potential TE’s in the draft. I was wondering if we invest a first or even second rd pick on a TE. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

18 minutes ago, Wsam4031 said:

I have been very vocal on this he needs to go. if its a drop once in a while it happens but this guy seems to always have key drops that could affect us if we are playing better teams in the playoffs. there is a reason a guy with his talent dropped to the 4th round. i say go after another TE next year. 

 

Knox drafted in the 3rd.

 

We're not likely to be cutting Knox next year.  But I think we'll draft another TE.  Maybe not in the top rounds people have in mind, another 3rd or 4th.  Knox will hopefully be in a 3 or 4 way fight with Sweeney, Gilliam, draft pick, and maybe a FA.

 

I swear that guy needs to take up meditation or minimalism or something.  Maybe he needs to Milano-ize his apartment. 

He can make a contested catch that he has to jump for and one-hand with a defender's hands in his face, but when the ball is coming right at his chest and hits him in the hands with no defender nearby it's like it his attention starts wandering.

 

1 minute ago, bobobonators said:

I totally agree to stick with him this season. If anything he has been improving. My original post was more in terms of looking at next season bc of the potential TE’s in the draft. I was wondering if we invest a first or even second rd pick on a TE. 

 

I doubt it at this point.  At this point, I think Diggs is Allen's guy.

[JoPoy88]

32 minutes ago, MarkyMannn said:

Yeah the TD drop was disappointing, but he made at least two very tough catches later in the game

seems like he does this every game though. Keep him around until you can upgrade the position then cut him loose. I’m tired of the knox rollercoaster at this point.

[GunnerBill]

I am sticking with Knox one more year largely because I don't know that it is sufficiently high priority to spend more resource there. The Bills need more reinforcement on the D line, they likely need a starter at linebacker if Milano walks, a starter at right tackle if Williams walks and they would still like, I'm sure, an upgrade at the second corner spot. I put tight end after each of those. 

 

And the other thing is the potential he continues to flash. He makes some great tough catches. That makes me believe the easy ones are concentration more than technique. I am giving him one more year to get it together. If he doesn't I am committing a decent chunk of resource either in FA or draft in 2022. 

[Don Otreply]

2 minutes ago, bobobonators said:

I totally agree to stick with him this season. If anything he has been improving. My original post was more in terms of looking at next season bc of the potential TE’s in the draft. I was wondering if we invest a first or even second rd pick on a TE. 

I at this point don’t see Beane spending a first or second round pick on a TE, but I’ve been wrong more than once... 😁👍

[MJS]

36 minutes ago, golfball323 said:

The Bills need their Kelce. Go get him...

It's unrealistic to believe you can go get the best TE in the league. Kelce types don't grow on trees.

 

There are only a few elite TE's in the league. The rest are fairly mediocre.

[Beast]

They need to look to upgrade that position this off-season. Knox's errors are being masked by a potent offense but, eventually, one of those many drops will cost the Bills. He's way too inconsistent. He may round into form but they would be wise to look for a better option this off-season.

[Rocky Landing]

It's worth noting that they kept Knox on the field after that egregious drop, and that Allen threw to him shortly after, and trusted him with a very difficult catch on fourth down. 

 

Also, while we're on the subject of TEs, at some point color commentators are going to have to stop referring to Lee Smith as "blocking tight end Lee Smith."

[MJS]

Just now, Rocky Landing said:

It's worth noting that they kept Knox on the field after that egregious drop, and that Allen threw to him shortly after, and trusted him with a very difficult catch on fourth down. 

 

Also, while we're on the subject of TEs, at some point color commentators are going to have to stop referring to Lee Smith as "blocking tight end Lee Smith."

I think Allen likes Knox a lot.

[Ralonzo]

42 minutes ago, MarkyMannn said:

Yeah the TD drop was disappointing, but he made at least two very tough catches later in the game

 

Knox is still projecting to a poor man's Kelce, IMO. Kelce started the same way with dropsies, gradually lessening his drops, but they still happen from time to time.

 

Travis Kelce, that is. Lee Smith projects to a poor man's Jason Kelce.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

He's kind of rookie/2nd year Josh Allen as a TE. He's got everything you want but has the occasional bone head play. 

 

I think you should draft a TE to compete with him but don't give up on him. I still think he has super star TE potential. He makes difficult catches look routine but the drops have to stop. 

[CincyBillsFan]

23 minutes ago, jrober38 said:

Having a tight end who can consistently get open, like Knox often is is an asset. 

 

I don't really care if he drops some passes. He's still a young player who was barely utilized in college. 

 

The glass is half full view is that he's almost always open, which is rare for a tight end in the NFL these days. 

 

This.

 

Knox has stepped up his game big time and if he continues to improve the Bills will be getting great TE play very cheap which is a big deal over the next couple of years.

 

Sure Knox had a bad drop but his three catches were outstanding and every one was a big play in Bill's TD drives.  Even on his drop you have to like how he got open.

 

I was on the fence with Knox figuring he needed to show flashes the 2nd half of the year and IMO he has.  It wouldn't shock me to see him have a dominating game in the playoffs as DC's fixate on stopping Diggs, Beasley & Brown.

 

 

[Fan in Chicago]

We keep him till there is a better option. I dont like cutting players (not named Kelvin Benjamin) before we have adequate replacements. That said, Knox's drops are concerning especially as we are now talking championships and not just division wins or playoffs. 

If a past-great TE with couple of years left in the tank comes available (no one comes immediately to mind), then I would grab him in the offseason as a short term insurance policy in case Knox still has trouble catching.