Dawkins attended Rahway High SchoolinRahway, New Jersey where he earned the nickname "the Shnowman."[1] After originally committing to the Cincinnati Bearcats, Dawkins signed with Temple in January 2013.[2]
Dawkins played at Temple from 2013 to 2016, starting 41 of 44 career games.[3][4][5] Dawkins was named a First-team All-American Athletic Conference selection after his senior year.
Dawkins received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and started at guard for the North team. The North lost 16–15 to the South and he was named the Senior Bowl's top offensive lineman. He improved his draft stock after practicing and performing well during the Senior Bowl.[6] He attended the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine drills and positional drills. At Temple's Pro Day, Dawkins opted to attempt the vertical jump again and added two inches to his number from the Combine. He performed well in the positional drills with 40 scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams scouting him and 13 other teammates, including Temple's feature prospect, Haason Reddick.[7] Dawkins had private workouts with four teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and Indianapolis Colts.[8] The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a second round pick.[9] He was ranked the second-best guard in the draft by Sports Illustrated, the third-best guard by ESPN, the third-best interior offensive lineman by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and the fourth-best offensive tackle by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks and NFLDraftScout.com.[10][11][12][13]
On May 19, 2017, the Bills signed Dawkins to a four-year, $4.18 million contract with $1.83 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.18 million.[18] He played in all 16 games, starting 11 at left tackle in place of Cordy Glenn. Dawkins received an overall grade of 74.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.[19]
Dawkins entered training camp in 2018 slated as the starting left tackle after the Bills traded Cordy Glenn to the Cincinnati Bengals. Head coach Sean McDermott named Dawkins the starting left tackle to begin the regular season in 2018.[20] In Week 10 of the 2018 season, against the New York Jets, Dawkins caught his first career pass, a seven-yard touchdown from quarterbackMatt Barkley.[21]
On August 13, 2020, Dawkins signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Bills that includes $34 million guaranteed.[23]
In 2021, he began training camp on the COVID-19 reserve list and needed some time to return to playing shape.[24] Dawkins later revealed that he spent four days in the hospital battling the disease calling it "one of the lowest points" of his life.[25] He was named to his first Pro Bowl for his accomplishments in the 2021 season.[26]
On March 11, 2024, Dawkins signed a three-year, $60.5 million contract extension with the Bills through the 2027 season.[27]
