Jump to content

Knox’s Development


Andy1

Recommended Posts

I’m thrilled with the development we’ve seen from Knox this season. Today he became the TE with the most franchise TDs in a single season. I know a lot of fans have doubted his ability to develop in previous years. Several experts preached patience with him and it appears they were right. He has two TDs tonight and it should have been three. He is obviously a weapon that Josh has a lot of confidence in. When he catches the ball on the edges, he becomes a real problem for dbs to tackle. He is the most dynamic TE I think I’ve ever seen on the Bills. Looking forward to seeing him for many seasons to come.

  • Like (+1) 25
  • Agree 1
  • Thank you (+1) 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After Allen he's my favorite player on this team.  

 

He's going to be a Ertz/Kelce like feature.  And yes his ceiling is Kelce.  He should be seeing 8 plus targets a game right now.  Ok maybe not just yet but by next season absolutely.  Actually yes I think he can right now.  

 

Over a full 16 game pace this year he is right around 1000 yards on 60 plus catches. 

 

And 14 Touchdowns.  

Edited by Big Blitz
  • Like (+1) 3
  • Agree 1
  • Awesome! (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Wyobills89 said:

Awesome job knoxie, really helps our red zone offense in a big way. They mentioned how swelled his hand was today post-game. Really really praying it stays healthy! We need him as much as anyone.

Yeah was worried about development there for a bit.  He's been huge this year.  Love it when he makes something out of nothing too with his run ability. 

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

After Allen he's my favorite player on this team.  

 

He's going to be a Ertz/Kelce like feature.  And yes his ceiling is Kelce.  He should be seeing 8 plus targets a game right now.  Ok maybe not just yet but by next season absolutely.  Actually yes I think he can right now.  

 

Over a full 16 game pace this year he is right around 1000 yards on 60 plus catches. 

 

And 14 Touchdowns.  

Knox is just a different guy than Kelce.  Kelce is the Chiefs' version of Beasley, the guy who gets open to convert third downs into firsts.  Kelce also is a threat downfield but a lot of his catches are the shorter variety where he gets open through superior knowledge and quickness rather than the speed and downfield threat that Knox has.  I'm not criticizing either guy.  Kelce is the best TE in football.  What Knox brings is a different set of tools.  I don't think Knox will have Kelce-like numbers as long as we have Beasley getting all the quick shots, and I think Beasley is the best man on the team for those short routes.  

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A big reason Knox is so much better this year is the offseason work he put in.  (Any similarity to Josh Allen in this regard is purely intentional.)  He worked with Kelce and other top TEs to improve his route recognition and running, and apparently did some kind of training routines to work on his hands.  He still drops the occasional pass but no more than any receiver does.  

 

There's been a lot of Beane criticism lately for making a lot of moves but not making much improvement on the O line.  And if Tre White is out for a while, the dropoff in CB talent is going to be another area of criticism.  But for doggedly sticking with Knox while Knox figured things out, McBeane deserve a lot of credit.  Other teams have spent high draft picks on TEs, and some TE FAs have been getting paid a lot, but McBeane played the cards they had and it's turned out well.  

4 minutes ago, Pete said:

Knox, Ed Oliver, and Edwards all were huge last night, and will be cornerstones for our Bills the next decade

And all three have come close to being called busts by Bills fans.  It looks likely that sometimes it just takes a couple of years for a young player to figure out the game.

  • Thank you (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Utah John said:

 

And all three have come close to being called busts by Bills fans.  It looks likely that sometimes it just takes a couple of years for a young player to figure out the game.

haters gotta hate.  To them I say:  patience grasshopper

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Pete said:

haters gotta hate.  To them I say:  patience grasshopper

Quite right.  The problem during the drought was we always needed our draft picks to produce at a high level right away, because the core of the team was usually not good.  We didn't have time to watch them develop.  The McBeane miracle has been we now have that core of the team playing very well, so if guys like Edmunds and Knox and Oliver weren't all that impressive to start, we could still win while they figured it all out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Marvlevydraftdaygenius said:

Knox just finds wide open spots on the field where no one is around him.  I am guessing defenses are just playing cover two and telling somebody besides Diggs beat us.


Thats basically what Kelce does, as teams are so weary of Hill.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knox was drafted because he had all the physical skills needed, but was very un-polished.  In college he had a total of 39 catches for 605 yards and 0 TD's. That Ole Miss team relied on its 1st round WR's to do the all the work, scheme wasn't set up for him.   Pretty sure he left after his junior season, likely if he had stayed another season, with those guys gone, he would have been showcased much more..

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, DJB said:

Amazing turnaround in his game. I was a naysayer and thought he needed to be replaced with those brick hands. 

 

Love him now 

 

Yeah, his brick hands really bothered me.  He's better now: not perfect - but an asset rather than a deficit overall.  Good for tough after-the-catch yards.   

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Isn't that what Carradine would say just before he booted some baddies' heads off? 🤔

That was the constant advice of the blind sage played by Keye Luke who among his many roles was son number 1 in the old Charlie Chan movies.

  • Like (+1) 1
  • Awesome! (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Utah John said:

Knox is just a different guy than Kelce.  Kelce is the Chiefs' version of Beasley, the guy who gets open to convert third downs into firsts.  Kelce also is a threat downfield but a lot of his catches are the shorter variety where he gets open through superior knowledge and quickness rather than the speed and downfield threat that Knox has.  I'm not criticizing either guy.  Kelce is the best TE in football.  What Knox brings is a different set of tools.  I don't think Knox will have Kelce-like numbers as long as we have Beasley getting all the quick shots, and I think Beasley is the best man on the team for those short routes.  

 

Dawson reminds me more of Dallas Clark from a size / speed comparison and the down field threat they both posed.

 

I was a bit surprised to see Knox ahead of Clark at this point in their respective careers. 

 

Take a look at Clark's progression: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/ClarDa00.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

Dawson reminds me more of Dallas Clark from a size / speed comparison and the down field threat they both posed.

 

I was a bit surprised to see Knox ahead of Clark at this point in their respective careers. 

 

Take a look at Clark's progression: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/ClarDa00.htm


Yeah I remember people saying the Bills should’ve taken Clark in the draft , and then watching his progression and thinking after the first 4 seasons that he wasn’t all that great.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

His right hand was so swollen during the post-game interview / turkey leg 🍗 chow-down (would’ve been appropriate for Ed Oliver to have been included in that. Dude made plays without much help / with backups along the rest of the line). Literally DOUBLE the size of his left hand still from the surgery a few weeks ago.

 

Dude is a baller, just runs through people, and it seems like the TE University thing helped his game. Very important outlet for Josh and his blocking has gotten better too. Would be very nice to have true, complete, dangerous TE rather than the 30 year string of guys who can really only do one or the other.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I said last off-season the No. 1 thing that would improve our team is the arrival of a stud running, catching, athletic TE in the Kelce mold.

 

We may have found one, and he was already on the team!

 

Knox keeps improving all the time.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

Outside Allen he is the only guy on offense w elite physical tools

I'll say Diggs has them too. Even though it is not outright speed, the way he can jitter and shift and change direction so quickly is elite. He is one of the best route runners in the league and his deceptive eyes, body movement and footwork are elite.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, TampaBillsJunkie said:

I'll say Diggs has them too. Even though it is not outright speed, the way he can jitter and shift and change direction so quickly is elite. He is one of the best route runners in the league and his deceptive eyes, body movement and footwork are elite.

Agree. I consider him an elite athlete in his position. I also think he’s quite possibly the best route runner in the game. 

  • Agree 1
  • Thank you (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Andy1 said:

n. I know a lot of fans have doubted his ability to develop in previous years. Several experts preached patience with him and it appears they were right. 

After last season, I will admit that I was running out of patience and didn't think he would turn the corner. I am glad I was wrong. Even if he doesn't improve further (doubtful) and  keeps up this performance , we will finally have a reliable TE weapon which we haven't had in a long long time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a very specific reason to revive this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...