Three NFL seasons in, Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins is still looking for that first Pro Bowl selection. Yet, the Buffalo organization clearly believes that Dawkins belongs amongst the league's upper echelon of left tackles and that he's the right guy to protect Josh Allen's blind side for years to come.

On Thursday, the team rewarded Dawkins with a four-year, $60 million extension—including $34 million guaranteed—that will make him the fifth-highest paid left tackle in football and seventh-highest paid offensive tackle overall.

Addressing the new deal, Dawkins said he's motivated to prove the organization right and justify their confidence in him.

“It just means that it's time to go earn it.” Dawkins said on Thursday, via NFL.com. “It’s definitely time to go out there and earn every penny of it. It just gives me that much more respect, and it just shows the respect they had for myself that, listen, this is our franchise left tackle and Dion Dawkins is a piece that we can build around, and we can continue to win games with.”

The second-round pick in 2017 was entering the final year of his rookie contract. His new contract will, in theory, keep him in Buffalo through the 2024 season.

The Bills' confidence is Dawkins is understandable. He was only called for holding on three occasions in 2019 and allowed just 3.5 sacks. Plus, one of Dawkins' most valuable abilities has been his durability, as he's never missed game in his career (starting 43 games).

Buffalo is hoping to build off of their 10-win campaign in 2019 that ended in a 22-19 loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Game.