Watch: Spencer Brown on video
ESPN released its annual ranking of the NFL’s top 10 offensive tackles on Friday, and neither of the Buffalo Bills‘ starting tackles made the list — but both showed up in the voting. Dion Dawkins landed in the honorable mentions, while right tackle Spencer Brown appeared among the players who also received votes.
The rankings, compiled by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, draw on ballots from more than 70 league executives, coaches and scouts, and the position is crowded at the top. Detroit’s Penei Sewell took the No. 1 spot, ahead of San Francisco’s Trent Williams and Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs. Getting a mention below that group still says something about how the league views Buffalo’s veteran left tackle. An NFC executive summed up Dawkins in the piece: “A solid starter, plays with an edge, can be good in both phases but shows inconsistent effort.”
Why it matters
That’s a fair read on a player who has been the constant on Buffalo’s line since 2017. The effort critique will rankle some fans, but the rest of the evaluation — starter-level in both the run and pass game, plays with an edge — is what a team wants from a tackle protecting Josh Allen‘s blind side. Brown’s inclusion among vote-getters matters too. It’s the first league-wide acknowledgment in this year’s poll that Buffalo’s right tackle belongs in the conversation, and it means both of the Bills’ bookends registered with evaluators around the NFL.
From a roster-building standpoint, tackle is one position Buffalo doesn’t have to solve this summer. The front office’s offensive line questions sit inside — the left guard competition and O’Cyrus Torrence‘s contract situation — while the edges are settled with two starters the rest of the league rates as credible or better. With camp opening later this month, that stability is worth more than the ranking itself.
For fantasy purposes, settled tackle play is a quiet plus for the whole Buffalo offense: Allen’s rushing and passing production has never dipped for protection reasons, and a stable line keeps James Cook‘s workload projection intact. Neither tackle moves draft boards directly, but the unit’s continuity is one reason Bills skill players carry less risk than most at their price.
