Getty Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox and quarterback Josh Allen during a game in 2019.
With the wide array of offensive weapons that the Buffalo Bills boast through the air for quarterback Josh Allen, it would’ve been forgivable to overlook tight end Dawson Knox entering the season. Not anymore.
In his third year in the NFL, Knox is in the midst of a breakout campaign and has helped lead the Bills offense to 118 points over their last three games – all wins. The 24-year-old has been right there alongside Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders as Allen’s favorite targets, as Knox has been directly responsible for 24 of those 118 points – or 20.3% – with his four trips to the end zone over the trio of contests.
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Of course, with his blocking and other attributes, Knox has been indirectly responsible for plenty of more points that the Bills have put on the board.
In week five, the former Ole Miss product will go head-to-head with the premier tight end in the game in Travis Kelce, as the Bills face Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, newcomer Josh Gordon and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
Allen on Knox: ‘He’s Only Going to Continue to Get Better’
GettyBuffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox and quarterback Josh Allen during the 2021 AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Tuesday, Allen spoke highly of the up-and-comer, noting how many different ways that he positively impacts the game.
“Whether it be blocking, whether it be pass catching to running routes, he just finds ways to get open,” Allen said. “I have supreme trust in this guy right here and he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Entering this fall, Knox had had some issues with drops over his first two NFL seasons, but through the early portion of 2021, the issue has mostly been forgotten.
“There’s always going to be a lot of noise coming from the outside talking about trades for certain players or acquiring different free agents,” Knox said. “But we gotta focus on us, you know? I gotta focus on myself and I’ve gotta get better every day. As soon as I start worrying about what people are saying about the tight end position or the offense, that’s the second you start to slip and lose focus on where you want to be.”
Knox Is Tied With Gronk for Most TDs by a TE in 2021
GettyBuffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox during the team’s game against the Houston Texans on October 3, 2021.
It’s been clear on the field that Knox has taken a huge leap forward this season, but the numbers have backed that notion up as well. Thus far, the Brentwood, Tennessee native is leading all Bills in touchdown receptions with four, a figure that is tied with Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Rob Gronkowski for the NFL-lead among tight ends.
Additionally, he’s knotted up with Diggs and Beasley for the team lead in red zone targets with six and leads Buffalo with his 29 red zone receiving yards. His four touchdowns through the air are already a career-high and just one fewer than his five combined touchdown catches in 2019 and 2020.
With his 15 receptions this season, he is already more than halfway past his total last year’s 24 catches and his 28 from 2019.
Knox will look to stretch his hot streak of touchdown snags to four straight games when the Bills face the Chiefs at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday.
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