As for Hawes, seven-year veteran tight end Dawson Knox said it wasn’t a huge mental jump for the rookie.
“My favorite thing to see is him finding his routine, like in the training room and weight room, figure out what stretches and activation circuits he needs to do,” Knox said. “As a rookie, you come in and you’re just doing what you used to do in college, where you just throw on your stuff, get out there and go practice. But these seasons are long, you got to prepare your body the right way.”
Hawes said Knox is especially important for him in terms of blocking and learning technique. The veteran has no doubt that Hawes’ consistency and ability to learn will take him far in his career.
“He’s already, arguably, the best blocking tight end in the National Football League, so that in itself, he’s going to be playing a long, long time,” Knox said. “The way he’s dominated since day one, I’ve learned stuff from him in the run game. So, he’s just an awesome dude, all-around impressive. He’s going to be really good for a really long time.”
Having that veteran support is essential, but the rookies know they also have each other.
It doesn’t matter if Hawes is the only one of the five on the opposite side of the ball. Since coming to Buffalo, all of them developed a bond from the moment they “were lumped together in a little rookie hotel,” Hawes said. That connection hasn’t escaped them, regardless of how little time they have on their hands.
“We know we’re not in this thing by ourselves,” Hancock said. “We’re all going through this together, and it’s really good to have those people.”