The big-bodied rookie has a chance to carve out a role early this season
The Buffalo Bills use two tight ends frequently on offense. That makes sense given the investment they’ve made at the position over the last few years. Given that they use two tight ends often, it means that whichever player is the third tight end has a legitimate chance at earning plenty of play time throughout the course of the season.
Last year, Quintin Morris was the team’s third tight end. However, he now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars, so that job — and his snaps — is up for grabs. Will the Bills go with a familiar face at the position? Or will they give the snaps to a rookie?
In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss a rookie tight end vying for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Name: Jackson Hawes
Number: 85
Position: TE
Height/Weight: 6’4” 253 pounds
Age: 24 (25 on 12/6/2025)
Experience/Draft: R; selected by Buffalo in the fifth round (No. 173 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft
College: Georgia Tech
Acquired: Fifth-round pick
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hawes enters the first year of his four-year rookie contract, a deal worth $4,520,216 overall. For the 2025 season, he carries a cap hit of $920,054 if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo is on the hook for a dead-cap charge that equals the total guaranteed money on the deal if they release him. That number is $320,212.
2024 Recap: Hawes played last season at Georgia Tech after spending his previous NCAA seasons at Yale. While he wasn’t used much in the passing game at either collegiate stop — he caught just 35 passes for 371 yards and six scores at Yale across three seasons, and he caught 16 passes for 195 yards last year — he was a phenomenal blocker, especially in the running game.
Hawes secured an invitation to the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and he displayed above-average athletic ability. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds, leapt 34.5” in the vertical jump and 10’1” in the broad jump, completed the 20-yard shuttle run in 4.4 seconds, and put up 16 reps of the 225-lb. bench press. Lance Zierlein wrote that Hawes has a “salty demeanor [that] makes him an extension of the offensive line.”
Positional outlook: Hawes is one of six tight ends on the current roster. Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Zach Davidson, Matt Sokol, and Keleki Latu are the others.
2025 Offseason: Hawes is healthy and participating in camp thus far. He made a positive impression as a receiver in rookie camp back in May.
2025 Season outlook: I’d already have considered Hawes to be the clubhouse leader for the TE3 spot given his status as a draft choice, but all the reports I’ve read about him indicate that the Bills might have landed a gem late in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s not going to be a starter on this team — at least, if everything goes to plan — but he slots in as a great option whenever the Bills want to run a jumbo package.
Last season, Buffalo used a sixth offensive lineman in Alec Anderson quite often. This season, Buffalo could essentially treat Hawes as a sixth offensive lineman if they wish, except that he has superior receiving ability to an actual offensive lineman.
The Bills could use Hawes and Anderson together, as well, creating one of two things for the offense: it’s either a fantastic run-blocking unit, or a deadly play-action personnel package given how run-coded the grouping appears to be. With Dawson Knox beginning training camp on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list, Hawes could see more reps than he otherwise would have this summer.
He could parlay a big summer into a niche role early in his career. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up playing around 20% of the offensive snaps, and if he develops as a receiver, he could snag a few red zone touchdowns, as well.