Buffalo Bills fans might have a difficult time recognizing left tackle Dion Dawkins when he first steps foot on the field this year.
The team’s star offensive lineman, the longest-tenured player on offense, revealed that he made a major change for the upcoming season, all with a goal of better protecting quarterback Josh Allen. Dawkins and the team will face significant pressure after the franchise ousted longtime head coach Sean McDermott, but Dawkins said he believes he can help the team finally get over the hump and into the Super Bowl.
Dion Dawkins Trims Down
Speaking to USA Today at the 2026 ESPYs, Dawkins revealed that he dropped 45 pounds from his playing weight last year.
“I’ve told [everyone] in the world that this will be the lightest season that I ever play,” Dawkins said.
The report noted that Dawkins was listed at 320 pounds by the Bills last year, though it’s not clear exactly where he will land for the upcoming season. The veteran left tackle said he aimed to become quicker.
“To play a little faster, play a little better because something is not getting us over that hump,” Dawkins said. “So I want to be at the best that I could possibly be. So I said, (expletive) it, let’s lose some weight.”
The new weight could be a surprise to Bills fans, just as it will be for Allen. Dawkins shared that he hasn’t seen the Bills quarterback since losing 45 pounds.
“He’ll probably see me and be like, ‘All right, Dion, it’s time to eat a little bit,’” Dawkins said. “But I would rather have that than all right Dion’s time to lose a little bit. So I’d rather start super light and see how it goes.”
Dawkins joked that he might become a target for Allen at the lower weight and has been pushing the idea with new head coach Joe Brady.
“If I come in lighter, I get a couple of the touchdown passes,” Dawkins joked. “So we’ll see.”
Dawkins is no stranger to finding the endzone, and was actually the only player to catch touchdown passes in the first two years of Allen’s career with the Bills.
Bills Players Ready for Joe Brady
Other Bills players say they’re ready to start work under Brady’s tenure as head coach. In an appearance on “Good Morning Football” this week, running back James Cook said there’s already been a new energy in the building since Brady took.
âI mean, itâs just a new energy in the building,â Cook said, via Pro Football Talk. âItâs going to always be like that, I feel like, when you have a new head coach coming in â a young one, too, at that. I mean, Joeâs a young head coach coming in, his first year being a head coach. I mean, heâs got a new energy. Thatâs what I feel like.â
Dawkins and his teammates will return to Western New York at the end of the month when the Bills kick off training camp at St. John Fisher University, outside of Rochester, New York.
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