In the movie Step Brothers, the line “did we just become best friends?” occurs 21 minutes in, and it appears that’s how long it took for a Dale Doback and Brennan Huff esque bond to form between Dion Dawkins and CJ Gardner-Johnson.
After training camp practice on Monday morning at St. John Fisher University, Dawkins took to the podium to explain his newfound buddy on the defensive side of the ball who’s only been a member of the Bills since mid March.
When asked about Gardner-Johnson — remember, Dawkins
was one of the first to comment on the defensive back’s injury on August 1, Buffalo’s left tackle said:
“I love the guy… he’s literally one of the teammates I didn’t know that I needed… he unlocked a whole side of the me that I’m like, bro, you’re my guy.”
Expanding further thanks to a follow-up question, Dawkins explained that while he’s always himself, there has been a more buttoned-up professional version of Dawkins. With Gardner-Johnson, he feels he can “just be Dion” all the time:
“I’m going to put myself first instead of putting everyone else first in certain situations outside of ball.”
And apparently Gardner-Johnson has helped him realize the importance of doing that, particularly as he enters the 10th year of his NFL career. Gardner-Johnson is an eight-year veteran.
When explaining his new teammate having such a quick, positive impact on his mind space, Dawkins playfully referred to Gardner-Johnson as another “Tazmanian devil” who’s free and exactly himself at all times.
Sometimes you just click with someone right away.
That appears to be the case for new teammates Dawkins and Gardner-Johnson, two free spirits who happen to be darn good football players.
