Few tackles in the game today have been as good, or as outspoken, as Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins.
The four-time Pro Bowler has been a key cog to Buffalo's success on offense throughout the last decade. While league MVP Josh Allen gets most of the credit, Dawkins has been arguably the second best player on the Bills.
So much so that he apparantely has some pull in the league office.
With the league's announcement of the introduction of the "Protector of the Year" award - given to the top offensive lineman in the league each season - NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent gave credit to Dawkins for the idea.
"The domino finally fell over when we were at the Roger Goodell party for the Super Bowl, and then I said, 'Rog, you got Orlando Pace here, you got me here, you got these guys here,'" Dawkins said to ESPN this week. "'We need an award for the big guy,' and then it kind of just turned, and you guys know, I've been talking about this for a long time. A long time."
Recently retired tackle Andrew Whitworth was also a key part in the creation of the award.
There are several elite offensive linemen that may be considered "favorites" for the award. Stars like All-Pros Lane Johnson and Penei Sewell are easy picks.
But Dawkins is not just an underrated Bill, he may be an underrated favorite for the award. And that would be poetic justice for the player that has tried to bring more attention to offensive linemen as a collective.