Bills LT Dion Dawkins earns spot on NFL Top 100 Players list for first time

Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins has earned a spot on this year's NFL Top 100 Players list.

Oct 8, 2023; London United Kingdom, Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins (73) poses with fans during an NFL International Series game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL kicked off the reveal of its annual list of its Top 100 Players as voted by the league’s participants on Monday morning, unveiling those who slotted in at spots No. 100–81. The Buffalo Bills already have representation on this year’s rendition of the ranking, with stalwart left tackle Dion Dawkins coming in at No. 96 on the list. 

The 2024 NFL Top 100 Players 100-81 has released:

100. Zaire Franklin
99. Lavonte David
98. Cam Heyward
97. Terry McLaurin
96. Dion Dawkins
95. Julian Love
94. Trevor Lawrence
93. Harrison Smith
92. Aaron Rodgers
91. Tariq Woolen
90. Devonta Smith
89. Budda Baker
88. Chris…

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) July 22, 2024

Dawkins has quietly been one of the league’s more underrated offensive linemen since his ascension to Buffalo’s starting left tackle role midway through the 2017 season, taking the role as a rookie and not looking back since. He’s coming off a 2023 season in which he anchored a Bills offensive line that constructed its strongest and most cohesive performance of quarterback Josh Allen’s six-year professional career; per Pro Football Focus, Dawkins allowed just two sacks throughout his 2023 campaign, a career-low. 

This is the first time that the three-time Pro Bowler has earned a spot on the Top 100 Players list. It also sets the stage for Buffalo to match—or potentially improve upon—its number of representatives on the list from a year ago; the Bills had four representatives on 2023’s rendition: quarterback Josh Allen, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, safety Jordan Poyer, and linebacker Matt Milano. Allen is a lock to appear on this year’s list, but Milano may tumble out of the rankings given the fact that he missed the vast majority of the 2023 campaign with a fractured tibia; both Diggs and Poyer departed One Bills Drive in the offseason.

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver, running back James Cook, and cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson could realistically appear somewhere on this year’s list (though all may be long shots). The NFL will continue the reveal of its Top 100 list throughout the rest of the week.

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