Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Earlier this year, Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins said he was working to get the National Football League to create an award recognizing those on the offensive front who protect the quarterback and help create room for offense to flourish.
"Offensive linemen don't have awards for being great. There's not a 'Protector of the Year' award," said Dawkins back in January. "I'm knocking on so many doors now to get this award going, and I'm gonna head spirit and make sure this gets done before I'm done playing. There's so many greats. If we have great quarterbacks, we have great running backs, we have rushing titles, we have quarterback passing titles. All those titles are reflections of the o-linemen, which are the protectors."
Persistence has paid off for the veteran tackle.
The NFL announced on Wednesday it has created an annual award known as the "Protector of the Year", recognizing the best offensive lineman for a given season. According to the league announcement, the honor will be decided upon by a panel that includes a number of former standout NFL linemen.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent gives credit for the creation of the award to Dawkins.
"He was truly instrumental, him and Andrew Whitworth, of just making sure that we recognize the big fellas," said Vincent on Wednesday from the Spring League Meeting in Minnesota. "LeCharles Bentley, Jason Kelce, Shaun O'Hara, Orlando Pace, Will Shields and Andrew Whitworth will be the panel. ... They've come up with a criteria on skills, metrics, impact, leadership, durability and strength of the opponent. We'll be tracking that quarterly with this group."
Dawkins has spent his entire eight-year career in the NFL with the Bills since being drafted in the second round (63rd overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft. In that time, Dawkins has played in 128 games, as well as 14 playoff games, while being a key piece to protecting Josh Allen under center for the Bills.
Over the last four seasons, Dawkins has been named to the NFL Pro Bowl.
The 31-year-old was part of an offensive line in 2024 that helped Buffalo finish the league with the fewest sacks given up, while also finishing top-10 in passing and rushing, and second in scoring. The Bills also finished 13-4 in 2024, wrapping up a fifth-straight AFC East title in early December.
Dawkins also played a huge role in Allen's success this past season, leading to the quarterback to become the first Bills signal caller in franchise history to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player honor.
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