Dion Dawkins
Introduction
Dion Dawkins (born April 26, 1994) is an American football offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple.
Early years
Dawkins attended Rahway High School in Rahway, New Jersey. After originally committing to the Cincinnati Bearcats, Dawkins signed with Temple in January 2013.
College career
Dawkins played at Temple from 2013 to 2016. Dawkins was named a First Team All-American Athletic Conference selection after his senior year. During his time at Temple, Dawkins started 41 of 44 career games.
Professional career
Dawkins received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and started at guard for the North team. The North lost 15-16 to the South and he was named the Senior Bowl's top offensive lineman. He improved his draft stock after practicing and performing well during the Senior Bowl. He attended the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine drills and positional drills. At Temple's Pro Day, Dawkins opted to attempt the vertical jump again and added two inches to his vertical from the NFL combine. He performed well in the positional drills for the 40 scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams scouted him and 13 other teammates, including Temple's feature prospect, Haason Reddick. Dawkins had private workouts with four teams, that included the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and Indianapolis Colts. The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a second round pick. He was ranked the second best guard in the draft by Sports Illustrated, was ranked the third best guard by ESPN, the third best interior offensive lineman by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and was ranked the fourth best offensive tackle by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks and NFLDraftScout.com.
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40‑yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 7⁄8 in (1.93 m) |
314 lb (142 kg) |
35 in (0.89 m) |
9 7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
5.11 s | 1.79 s | 2.94 s | 4.78 s | 7.30 s | 26 in (0.66 m) |
8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) |
26 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine. | ||||||||||||
The Buffalo Bills selected Dawkins in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. On May 19, 2017, the Buffalo Bills signed Dawkins to a four-year, $4.18 million contract with $1.83 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.18 million.