The second of the Bills second round picks was Dion Dawkins, OT Temple. We reached out to Mike Gibson, who runs Temple Football Forever, an Owls-focused blog. Thanks so much to Mike for taking the time to give us a little insight into the newest Bill!
What are the pros and cons to Dawkins as a player?
Dawkins is more of a power run blocker than a pass blocker, so I would say that’s the pros and the cons. Still, Matt Rhule had Dion at LT which was the blindside protection of P.J. Walker, so he was more than adequate in that regard.
Is he more of a guard or right tackle?
He can play both positions and he’s big enough to be an OT, so in a league where injuries shuffle the line throughout the season, that kind of versatility is what teams are looking for …
The Bills will be running a zone blocking scheme, how do you see him fitting in with that type of system?
He ran a zone blocking scheme a lot at Temple until the bowl game against Wake Forest when interim coach Ed Foley had a brain fart and used only 15 running plays the entire game, running 14 the right side. That’s why Foley was 7-15 as a head coach at Fordham. He forgot he had a NFL draft pick on the other side.
Do you think he was worth a 2nd round pick?
Mel Kiper had him rated as the top senior OT for most of the season and I don’t see how he fell to a No. 2. Kiper had him as a No. 1 until November, and Dawkins play did not fall off.
How is he on screen passes and kick out blocking?
He’s terrific on screen passes. All you have to do is google Jahad Thomas and you will see Dawkins fast enough to run interference on several of Thomas’ game-breaking runs.
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