GREEN BAY, Wisc. – Jackson Hawes '23 was selected with the 173rd overall pick in the fifth round of the 2025 National Football League (NFL) Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Hawes becomes the fifth Bulldog drafted during Head Coach
Tony Reno's tenure, joining Foyesade Oluokun (sixth round, Atlanta Falcons, 2017), Rodney Thomas II (seventh round, Indianapolis Colts, 2022), Kiran Amegadjie (third round, Chicago Bears, 2024), and Nick Gargiulo (seventh round, Denver Broncos, 2024).
"We are so excited for Jackson and his family. He is an incredible player who has worked relentlessly for this opportunity," said
Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "The Bills are getting an amazing leader and player. We're so very proud of and excited for what's ahead for him."
Hawes, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end from Salt Lake City, Utah, spent the 2024 season as a graduate transfer at Georgia Tech after earning his degree in economics from Yale in 2023. With the Yellow Jackets, he appeared in 12 games, making 10 starts at tight end. Hawes caught 16 passes for 195 yards (12.2 avg.) and led the ACC—and ranked eighth nationally among tight ends—in both run blocking (74.7 grade) and pass blocking (74.9 grade).
At Yale, Hawes was a key contributor from 2019 through 2023, helping the Bulldogs to three Ivy League titles. A two-time Second Team All-Ivy honoree, he appeared in 29 career games with 35 receptions and six touchdowns over three seasons.
In his senior year (2023), he was awarded the team's Norman S. Hall Memorial Trophy, established in 1937 by classmates of Norman S. Hall, Class of 1930, and awarded to a player for outstanding service to Yale football. That season, Yale won seven of its final eight games to finish 7–3 overall and 5–2 in Ivy League play, capping the year with a 23–18 win over Harvard in The Game to earn a share of the Ivy League championship.
In his junior season (2022), Hawes made a pivotal five-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter to secure Yale's 19–14 victory at Harvard, clinching the Ivy League title. The Bulldogs finished that season 8–2 overall and 6–1 in the Ivy League.
