When the Buffalo Bills have leaned on their tight ends through two games, the spotlight hasn’t always been on the pass catchers. Dalton Kincaid has grabbed most of the attention, and for good reason. But Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes have been doing plenty of the heavy lifting in the run game, and the film shows just how much their blocking has mattered.
James Cook has seven runs of 10-plus yards through two games, tied for the third-most in football. Knox has been on the field for every one of them. That alone tells you how often Buffalo has trusted him to do the dirty work that opens things up.
On Cook’s first 10-plus yard run of the season, Knox and Hawes each helped create the lane with second-level blocks. Hawes handled a reach block on Sheldon Rankins, who has long been one of the more underrated backfield disruptors in the league.
Later, on Cook’s 12-yard run against the Texans that ended with a fumble and an O’Cyrus Torrence recovery, Hawes stood his ground and stayed connected with Danielle Hunter right at the line of scrimmage. That’s no small assignment; Hunter is one of the most physically imposing edge rushers in the NFL.
The Lions game offered even more evidence of what Buffalo is getting from the pair. Cook ripped off five 10-plus yard runs, and Knox and Hawes were central to several of them.
Knox opened one of the bigger gains with a reach-and-hook block on D.J. Woonum in space, clearing a cutback lane for Cook to burst through the second level.
Later in that same game, the two tight ends worked in sync on another long Cook run. Hawes washed down Derrick Barnes while Knox climbed to the second level and got a hat on 2025 All-Pro Jack Campbell, one of the biggest off-ball linebackers in football. On another play, Hawes took on Aidan Hutchinson crashing inside and held up well, while Knox delivered another block on Campbell to help Cook knife through the line.
Buffalo kept finding ways to spring Cook late against Detroit, too. Hawes cut off Malcolm Rodriguez when the linebacker overpursued, and Knox used a snatch-trap on Hutchinson on the left side of the screen.
That was the block that set the stage for where Cook actually ended up with the ball, and he nearly scored. And no, that wasn’t a flag on Knox.
Hawes has also been rock-solid as a pass protector. He has been charged with zero pressures allowed on 10 pass-blocking snaps, and several of those reps have looked the part.
That doesn’t change the fact that Kincaid remains the Bills’ most dangerous tight end as a receiver. Through two games in 2025, he owns a 4.69 yards-per-route-run mark after leading all tight ends in YPRR at 2.70 last season.
Knox has three catches for 12 yards heading into Week 3, and Hawes is still waiting for his first catch of his second professional season. But the value they’ve given Buffalo has shown up in a different way. They’ve been moving linemen, sealing edges, clearing linebackers, and helping keep Josh Allen’s pocket intact.
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