BIOGRAPHY
Dion Dawkins was born April 26, 1994 in Rahway, New Jersey. He is an offensive tackle in the National Football League.
Dawkins played college football at Temple University and was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Playing a key role on the Bills offensive line, Dion has started and protected the blind side of his quarterback at an elite level. Dion’s versatility on the front extends to his pass-catching ability in goal-line sets with the team, accumulating two touchdown catches in his short career. He continues to improve and bring toughness to a young team looking to take the next step in the NFL postseason. During Dion’s collegiate career, he started 41 of 44 career games and was named to the First-Team All-American Athletic Conference. Leading up to the draft, Dion was named the Senior Bowl’s top offensive linemen and the fourth-best tackle of eligible draft prospects.
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 number from the Combine. He performed well in the positional drills with 40 scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams scouting him and 13 other teammates, including Temple's feature prospect, Haason Reddick. Dawkins had private workouts with four teams, including 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, the third-best guard by ESPN, the third-best interior offensive lineman by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and the fourth-best offensive tackle by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks and NFLDraftScout.com.
