The Bills Need to Extend This Player's Contract During the 2020 Season

Certain positions are extremely hard to replace in the NFL, and left tackle is one of them. The Buffalo Bills may have found their left tackle of the future, but his rookie contract expires in 2021, and they must look to extend him before that.

Dion Dawkins was drafted by Buffalo in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, out of Temple University. So far, he has lived up to expectations, or perhaps even exceeded them.

I asked a bunch of guys in the locker room what they learned about Josh Allen today.

I heard a lot about fight and poise.

Dion Dawkins going farther with his QB.

"We just here to witness greatness and just to help this kid do whatever he wants to do."#Bills pic.twitter.com/iUxSahiHMK
— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) September 9, 2019

In 2019, Dawkins had a positive grade of a 73.4 according to Pro Football Focus, with only four sacks allowed in 1,015 snaps. He has also been durable, missing zero games in his first three seasons and starting all but five of them.

When you have a young franchise quarterback like Josh Allen, you need to protect him with players that can help him grow into a superstar. Left tackle is arguably the most crucial position towards the safety of a quarterback, and Dawkins has begun to develop a connection with Allen already.

BIG MAN TD.

Josh Allen hits 320-pound tackle Dion Dawkins to tie it up vs. New England

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/BfqddyIJqn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 21, 2019

Don't expect too many Dawkins' touchdowns, but do expect positive leadership (a team captain in 2019) and solid pass blocking on the weak side of this offensive line. He just turned 26 and is becoming one of the more consistent bookends in the league.

The Bills better lock Dawkins up before he hits the free agency market, tackles are in high demand. Just look at what the Cleveland Browns paid right tackle Jack Conklin this offseason. If they don't, Allen could be running for his life in 2021 and beyond.

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Michael Obermuller is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Michael Obermuller also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username king_mizzard. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.