The Buffalo Bills have had the incredible benefit of having 1 of the NFL’s elite offensive tackles for the last decade in Dion Dawkins.
If the Bills are truly going to make a Super Bowl breakthrough in 2026, it will undoubtedly come with Dawkins keeping bloodthirsty edge rushers away from quarterback Josh Allen and opening up holes for running back James Cook.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz put the Bills on his list of “all-in” Super Bowl contenders in 2026 with 1 big caveat — they need to rework Dawkins’ 3-year, $60.6 million contract extension to not sink their future beyond this year.
“The Bills are currently 30th in the league in 2027 cap space, and they’re going to have difficulty climbing out of that hole,” Schatz wrote on September 6. “The only obvious candidate for a restructuring is left tackle Dion Dawkins, 32, so there will need to be cuts. The good news is that the Bills won’t have many of their own free agents to re-sign after the 2026 season. No player who played at least 50% of snaps for the Bills last season is still on the roster with a contract that ends after this season. As quarterback Josh Allen, 30, approaches his ninth NFL season, the pressure is definitely on him to help Buffalo finally get over the hump. The Bills added reinforcements for him this offseason, including wide receiver DJ Moore and new coach Joe Brady.”
From 2nd-Round Pick to One of Bills’ All-Time Greats
It’s safe to call Dawkins an all-time Bills great at this point in his career. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Rahway, New Jersey, native is a 5-time Pro Bowler, with each of those 5 Pro Bowl nods coming in the last 5 seasons.
Dawkins was a 2nd-round pick (No. 63 overall) out of Temple in the 2017 NFL Draft — 1 year before the Bills selected Allen in the 1st round (No. 7 overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Few players in Bills history can match Dawkins for his viciousness or durability. In his 1st 9 seasons, he’s only missed 5 regular-season games and never more than 2 games in any season. He’s started 137 out of 143 games he’s played in, including every game he’s played in since 2018.
The Bills have also become 1 of the NFL’s most consistently dominant teams — they’ve made the playoffs in 8 of Dawkins’ 9 seasons, including every season since 2019.
Dion Dawkins Called Out Over ‘Sloppy’ Play
While Dawkins has seemingly played the best football of his career over the last 5 seasons, he’s not without his critics.
Dawkins and fellow Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown both landed on PFF’s list of the NFL’s 10 most penalized players since 2021.
“The Bills have been one of the most-penalized teams altogether since 2021, and seeing both Dawkins and Brown on this list helps explain that,” PFF’s Bradley Locker wrote. “Brown has been called for an infraction 44 total times, placing in the top 16 in both holds and false starts … Dawkins has posted 56 penalties in the past half-decade while blocking Josh Allen’s blindside … the last two campaigns have been particularly rough in this department, with Dawkins collecting 25 penalties. If it’s any consolation, Dawkins’ 5,824 snaps are the most among all tackles over the past five years, making his penalty rate more palatable.”
Bills Urged to Rework Contract for $60 Million Pro Bowler