RD 3, Pick 96: TE Dawson Knox, Ole Miss

[hemma]

12 minutes ago, billybob71 said:

Did i miss something? We signing Zach Ertz?

 

I think he meant Kroft.  Probably had a smallish brain fart.

[oldmanfan]

If he can catch the kind of ball that Clay dropped in the end zone he's worth drafting.

[WideNine]

18 minutes ago, billybob71 said:

Did i miss something? We signing Zach Ertz?

 

5 minutes ago, hemma said:

 

I think he meant Kroft.  Probably had a smallish brain fart.

 

Thanks for the assist hemma was getting the business from the wife to get off my phone and in a rush.

 

Fixed.

 

 

 

 

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Knox was a really interesting pick.  He could turn out to be a hidden gem, despite the detractors who think you can only excel if you've scored a lot of touchdowns in college.

[3rdand12]

8 hours ago, racketmaster said:

Dawson Knox is a classic reason as to why you wait on drafting a tight end until the 2nd and 3rd rounds. He has all the measurable of an elite tight end (height, weight, speed) but just did not have the production because he was rarely used in the Ole Miss offense. George Kittle is a the most recent classic example of a quality tight end at the NFL level that had very little production at the college level despite all the athletic measurables. We have seen others over the years become elite tight ends without having much or any college production. Jimmy Graham played 1 year of college football and had a total of 17 receptions. Antonio Gates did not even play college football. But they had the measuables and athletic skill to develop into elite players.

 

Now I'm not saying Knox is going to be an elite tight end on the level of Kittle or Gates, but he could easily turn into a top 15 tight end. He is the type of prospect I was hoping the Bills would identify outside of the first round. I would not be shocked if Knox ended up having just as good of a career at Hockenson and there are a few reasons why:

 

1. The nature of the position lends itself to high quality tight ends coming out of the 2nd and 3rd rounds. TE is similar to the RB position where you don't have to get one in the first round. In fact, the 2nd and 3rd rounds have each produced more quality and elite TEs than the first round.

2. Knox has the elite measurables in terms of height, weight and speed. He ran in the 4.5s while Hockenson was a 4.7 speed guy. Plus Knox has a little more shiftiness and nimbleness to him where as Hockenson and Fant are a little more straight line speed guys. In any case, Knox stacks up athletically with the 2 first round tight ends.

3. Knox is an underrated blocker. Hockenson gets all the blocking attention and it is deserved but watching Knox, he is a very good blocker. Ole Miss had the confidence to match Knox up 1 on 1 with Josh Allen and Montez Sweat numerous times from the games I watched in 2017 and he more than held is own. Sometimes Knox got help from a RB chipping and they did not always match up on the same side. But when I saw Knox run and pass block 1 on 1 against those 2 first round picks, he did a great job. His blocking ability will keep him around in the NFL and give him a chance to get on the field and develop as a pass receiver.

4. Opportunity. Knox had little opportunity at Ole Miss. When given a chance, he could make difficult adjustments to the football and showed reliable hands. One of the broadcast teams said that Knox had the best hands on the Ole Miss team that obviously included Metcalf and AJ Brown. Knox is a fluid route runner and former high school quarterback. He is smart and has the ability to run a variety of routes. In the games I watched he was able to get deep down the field for would be touchdowns but was underthrown or not thrown to at all as the Ole Miss QB was situation was less than impressive.

5. Competitiveness, tough and willing to put in the work. Knox showed his competitive nature in his blocking and I trust the Bills to identify players that truly want to get better. He also played through a hernia injury last year that required surgery in the off season.

 

It is the draft so there are no guarantees, but Knox is the type of TE that teams should target in the middle rounds because he could easily turn into a home run pick.

 

even if this is  Mrs Knox ? ,

 this a damned fine post all around.
Thanks for sharing some more detail on this guy.

i was all about getting TJ. and then i kinda liked Fant later on  after detroit picked : ) 
 but the more i read and see of this kid?
we might have one hell of a College Scouting team.
I think he starts.

Edited April 29, 2019 by 3rdand12
challenged at speelings

[#34fan]

8 hours ago, aristocrat said:

 

who's your guy at this pick that you think is guranteed better than knox?  This guy is a nice athlete with all the size and measureables you want.  When you get towards the end of third and fourth round these are guys that are flyers. We got Milano in the fifth and Phillips in the third last year, along with johnson and neal so this regime has a track record of getting talent late. 

 

 

Milano was my favorite out of the ones you mentioned. I thought he had great instincts at BC, and seemed to always, always be around the ball. -it was uncanny... From the beginning, I was skeptical of the others you mentioned, TBH.

 

To answer your question, I had Kaden Smith higher than Knox, as well as Hakeem Butler... There were a few more I had ranked higher because of their versatility. -Drue Tranquill being one of them,  but I gave Beane a pass because of  Drue's injury history (maybe I shouldn't have)... There a several more, I could mention, but it doesn't matter now... The Die is cast, and we are eyeball-deep in Mcbeane's "process".  -Like everyone else I'm just waiting to see the baby.

 

9 hours ago, akm0404 said:

 

Care to toss out a couple guys taken after them in the third/fourth that you are certain will be NFL stars?

 

Not even the mighty Beane is certain.

 

As far as Singletary goes, I had Winovich, Damien Harris, and Miles Boykin ranked higher.  -Way higher... But as someone else pointed out, I don't get paid to assess talent... -We'll see how those pan-out... Travis Homer was another kid I had a 4th-5th round grade on that I would have easily taken before Singletary... In my opinion, these are kids that have a good chance at excelling in the NFL, and helping teams win football games... Again, there's no point in any further hand-wringing. The die is cast.  -I'm just answering your questions.

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

Knox was a really interesting pick.  He could turn out to be a hidden gem, despite the detractors who think you can only excel if you've scored a lot of touchdowns in college.

 

 

Third round picks aren't hidden gems.

 

They are literally selected on a prime time evening television broadcast.

 

Rounds 2-4 tend to be where almost all of the best TE's are drafted.

[LSHMEAB]

6 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Third round picks aren't hidden gems.

 

They are literally selected on a prime time evening television broadcast.

 

Rounds 2-4 tend to be where almost all of the best TE's are drafted.

That's what I find kind of odd about our third round picks. They seem to be viewed here as "fliers." They're not.

 

When you draft a running back in the third round and he's not a big contributor, it's BAD. When you draft a TE in the third round and he's not a contributor, it's pretty bad. When you draft a TE or a RB in the 6th and they do nothing, meh. No biggie.

 

Singletary and Knox should be EXPECTED to produce. The third round is no time for fliers.

[Magnum Force]

15 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

That's what I find kind of odd about our third round picks. They seem to be viewed here as "fliers." They're not.

 

When you draft a running back in the third round and he's not a big contributor, it's BAD. When you draft a TE in the third round and he's not a contributor, it's pretty bad. When you draft a TE or a RB in the 6th and they do nothing, meh. No biggie.

 

Singletary and Knox should be EXPECTED to produce. The third round is no time for fliers.

I agree with this statement

[BADOLBILZ]

13 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

That's what I find kind of odd about our third round picks. They seem to be viewed here as "fliers." They're not.

 

When you draft a running back in the third round and he's not a big contributor, it's BAD. When you draft a TE in the third round and he's not a contributor, it's pretty bad. When you draft a TE or a RB in the 6th and they do nothing, meh. No biggie.

 

Singletary and Knox should be EXPECTED to produce. The third round is no time for fliers.

 

 

Yeah especially Singletary.

 

I point out that guys like Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt were very recent 3rd rounders............it's not so much that it is fair that people should expect their kind of production..........especially in a ***** RB draft...........it's just that "good" RB production is cheap and easy to find........so if you use a second day pick on one it's unnecessarily early if you don't get big production.

[Magnum Force]

3 hours ago, #34fan said:

 

 

Milano was my favorite out of the ones you mentioned. I thought he had great instincts at BC, and seemed to always, always be around the ball. -it was uncanny... From the beginning, I was skeptical of the others you mentioned, TBH.

 

To answer your question, I had Kaden Smith higher than Knox, as well as Hakeem Butler... There were a few more I had ranked higher because of their versatility. -Drue Tranquill being one of them,  but I gave Beane a pass because of  Drue's injury history (maybe I shouldn't have)... There a several more, I could mention, but it doesn't matter now... The Die is cast, and we are eyeball-deep in Mcbeane's "process".  -Like everyone else I'm just waiting to see the baby.

 

 

Not even the mighty Beane is certain.

 

As far as Singletary goes, I had Winovich, Damien Harris, and Miles Boykin ranked higher.  -Way higher... But as someone else pointed out, I don't get paid to assess talent... -We'll see how those pan-out... Travis Homer was another kid I had a 4th-5th round grade on that I would have easily taken before Singletary... In my opinion, these are kids that have a good chance at excelling in the NFL, and helping teams win football games... Again, there's no point in any further hand-wringing. The die is cast.  -I'm just answering your questions.

That is who I was hoping for with pick 74...or possibly Ferguson.  I like Boykin or wouldn't have minded trading up for Metcalf.  The Singletary pick was somewhat odd to me having Shady, Gore and Yeldon already.  I did like the Knox pick and think he has the potential to be a good TE. 

[Rufridr101]

Has the potential or ceiling to be the best all around TE in class. 

[#34fan]

When the **** is minicamp?  -I am thirsty for some fresh-pressed process, baby!

[Magnum Force]

Don't Stop Believing

[MakeBuffaloGreatAgain]

23 hours ago, MakeBuffaloGreatAgain said:

New nick name, Hard Knox!!! Bam! I know right?!?!?? Genius!

Good call!

[WideNine]

On 4/29/2019 at 12:09 AM, MakeBuffaloGreatAgain said:

New nick name, Hard Knox!!! Bam! I know right?!?!?? Genius!

 

8 hours ago, MakeBuffaloGreatAgain said:

Good call!

 

Fort Knox....you know he's money, he's gold.

 

A bit early, but he could grow into his nickname potential

 

 

[MakeBuffaloGreatAgain]

1 hour ago, WideNine said:

 

 

Fort Knox....you know he's money, he's gold.

 

A bit early, but he could grow into his nickname potential

 

 

I like it

[Forward Progress]

1 hour ago, WideNine said:

 

 

Fort Knox....you know he's money, he's gold.

 

A bit early, but he could grow into his nickname potential

 

 

 

How is no one beating the drum for "Opportunity Knox?"

[Boatdrinks]

13 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

That's what I find kind of odd about our third round picks. They seem to be viewed here as "fliers." They're not.

 

When you draft a running back in the third round and he's not a big contributor, it's BAD. When you draft a TE in the third round and he's not a contributor, it's pretty bad. When you draft a TE or a RB in the 6th and they do nothing, meh. No biggie.

 

Singletary and Knox should be EXPECTED to produce. The third round is no time for fliers.

I agree. If the Bills ( or any team for that matter) draft a player in round 3, they do so with the expectation of the player being a potential starter at some point. They certainly don’t move up from round 4 to round 3 to “ take a fllyer” on a TE. Knox would seem to be the prototype vision of their starting TE. 

[LSHMEAB]

19 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Yeah especially Singletary.

 

I point out that guys like Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt were very recent 3rd rounders............it's not so much that it is fair that people should expect their kind of production..........especially in a ***** RB draft...........it's just that "good" RB production is cheap and easy to find........so if you use a second day pick on one it's unnecessarily early if you don't get big production.

That's why I distinguish Singletary from Knox. Phillip Lindsey was a UDFA! Guys that weren't even drafted seem to come around often enough that expending a 3rd on a RB means you think he's "special."

 

As far as Knox, you must consider that we spent a 3rd AND a 4th to acquire his services. He should also come with big expectations.

 

I don't love the picks, but they will have every opportunity to prove the skeptics wrong. If Oliver and Ford are both perennial all pro's, it'll be somewhat overlooked. Still, I think the success of the 2019 draft will largely hinge on these players. We NEED playmakers.