Dion Dawkins gets his wish, sorta, as NFL Network's Cynthia Frelund creates an award close to what he has been pounding the table for
Buffalo Bills starting left tackle Dion Dawkins thoroughly enjoys talking. When the season wound down, with plenty of conversations surrounding league awards, and whether or not his quarterback, Josh Allen, was going to win his first career NFL MVP (which he rightly did), Dawkins made it clear that he believes there needs to be an award […]
Buffalo Bills starting left tackle Dion Dawkins thoroughly enjoys talking.
When the season wound down, with plenty of conversations surrounding league awards, and whether or not his quarterback, Josh Allen, was going to win his first career NFL MVP (which he rightly did), Dawkins made it clear that he believes there needs to be an award given to the league's best offensive lineman. I couldn't agree more.
While NFL Network's Cynthia Freelund didn't award a single player, she did create an award for the league's best offensive line unit. It's about time that the big fellas get their time in the spotlight.
"The thing for an individual that is a part of this league to be able to get an award for being great. And I'll circle back on, you know, offensive linemen don't have awards for being great. You know, there's not a "Protector of the Year" award," Dawkins said in January. "I'm knocking at so many doors now to get this award going. And I'm gonna head spear and make sure that this gets done before I'm done playing. Because there's so many greats. There's so many greats. And if we have great quarterbacks, we have great running backs, we have rushing titles, we have quarterback passing titles — all those titles are reflections of the old lineman, which are the protectors."
The Bills' offensive line didn't earn the top spot, but they were dubbed the runner-up of Freelund's award. The top spot went to the Detroit Lions, which I would have a pretty hard time arguing with.
Still, what the Bills did this year was phenomenal. Dawkins continues to be a rock solid left tackle and a superstar in his own right, but the emergence of right tackle Spencer Brown, along with right guard O'Cyrus Torrence, is what took this unit to a different level in 2024.
For Buffalo, having the entire offensive line, even often-deployed sixth offensive lineman Alec Anderson, secured and under contract through next season is a tremendous advantage. This squad will bring their continuity back to the field next fall, and look to build on a season where they allowed the fewest sacks of any offensive line in the NFL.
Follow along all year for more Buffalo Bills coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, and make sure to follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
