Bills
Buffalo added fifth-round TE Jackson Hawes despite already having TEs Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Bills HC Sean McDermott believes Hawes brings a tough-minded, run-blocking tight end the room needed.
“You gotta have the personality, right? You gotta love the friction, you gotta love the conflict, the confrontation as we call it,” McDermott said, via Ian Mills. “I think that’s the start of any person who likes the physical-ness of the game… you gotta wanna be in that street fight. He likes the noise… some like it and some don’t.”
Hawes thinks McDermott’s description was completely accurate because of his love for hitting and blocking people.
“I love that [McDermott] said friction because I think that just speaks to it perfectly,” Hawes said. “He hit it right on the head. I just love contact and love getting hands on guys and moving people.”
Jets
Jets OC Tanner Engstrand said WR Garrett Wilson will have a prominent role in the offense and he’s proud of how much he’s picked up thus far.
“Garrett, he’s continuing to improve every single day and learn the way that we want to run the routes all the time without taking his creativity away, just him learning when he needs to be in certain places at certain times because that’s where the quarterback expects him to be,” Engstrand said, via the team’s website. “Clearly an elite athlete and we’re looking forward to him continuing to get a hold and a grasp of this offense and take it to the next level.”
Patriots
Georgia OL coach Stacy Searels said third-round C Jared Wilson was arguably the most athletic center he’s ever coached and believes he has a high ceiling in the NFL.
“I’ve had nine or 10 centers go and play in the NFL, and Jared is the most athletic of any of them,” Searels said, via ESPN. “He has the tools to really be good.”
Searels coached both former Titans OL Ben Jones and former Patriots OL David Andrews, he believes the connection will help Wilson transition into the NFL.
“I think that connection is going to be huge for Jared. The relationship he’ll have with Ben and David — keep passing the torch for guys that will go and play in that league,” Searels said. “It’s not easy when you have the ball in your hand, a 330-pound nose guard is on top of you, and you see that safety rolling down in protection. I think Jared has the ability to understand line assignments and what the defense is doing, their tendencies, and being able to get you in the right call.”
While the team drafted Wilson to be their future center, he can also be more than serviceable as a guard, according to Searels.
“He can be a multi-positional player. I do think as a pulling guard, he will be excellent,” Searels said, who also noted that Wilson practiced at tackle one spring. “He can anchor, run in space, get moving, play with leverage, and he has big, strong hands [11 inches]. I think that’s so critical in offensive line play.“
The post AFC Notes: Garrett Wilson, Bills, Jets, Patriots appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.