Getty Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox.
While the Buffalo Bills may have originally intended to run more of a two-tight end offense with Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid after they drafted Kincaid in the first round in 2023, those plans may have changed.
Now, with Kincaid showing he could be an elite tight end on his own, Knox might be expendable. And it’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who could benefit.
The Pewter Plank’s Ryan Heckman suggested Knox, who made the Pro Bowl in 2022, as a player the Buccaneers should trade for ahead of the upcoming season. It would add another option at the position behind current starter Cade Otton … or possibly even unseat Otton as the starter.
“One position Bucs fans thought the team might address this offseason is at tight end,” Heckman wrote. “But, Tampa Bay didn’t do anything notable there. Instead, they will ride into the 2024 season with Cade Otton still locked in as the starter, unless another guy steps up and comes out of no where to take the job.
“Or, the Bucs could try and make a trade for a guy like Dawson Knox. The Bills drafted Dalton Kincaid in the first round, last year, and opted to use a lot of both at times in 2023. But, as the Bills navigate a post-Stefon Diggs era, dealing Knox could make some sense. Buffalo will probably try and feature guys like rookie Keon Coleman and veteran Curtis Samuel while also looking ahead to next year’s offseason to add more talent.”
Knox Has Talent to Still Be Featured Tight End
Knox was one of the most reliable parts of Buffalo’s offense for the last five seasons.
In 2021, he had career highs in receptions (49), receiving yards (587) and touchdowns (9) and he followed that with 48 receptions for 517 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2022 on the way to making the Pro Bowl.
Knox missed five games due to a wrist injury in 2023 and finished with career lows in receptions (22), receiving yards (186) and touchdowns. In his absence, Kincaid showed he could be an elite tight end with 73 receptions for 673 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Should Knox be able to return to form in 2024, he could be a viable TE1 option for the Buccaneers ahead of Otton, a fourth-round pick in 2022 who started all 17 games in 2023 and finished with 47 receptions for 455 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Bucs Historically Weak at Tight End
One position the Buccaneers have little to no history at is tight end, where no player in franchise history has ever earned NFL All-Pro honors.
Dave Moore is the last tight end to make the Pro Bowl in 2006, but that’s on a technicality — he was listed as a tight end on the roster but made the Pro Bowl as a long snapper and only had 1 reception for 9 yards that season.
The Buccaneers haven only had one truly dominant tight end in franchise history with Jimmie Giles, who played for Tampa Bay from 1978 to 1986 and was a four-time Pro Bowler. Giles had over 600 receiving yards three times in that stretch, including a career-high 45 receptions for 786 yards and 6 touchdowns in 1981.