Jay Skurski
News Sports Reporter
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Dalton Kincaid is giving the Buffalo Bills exactly what they need from him.
When assessing the team’s 3-0 start, that’s easily been one of the biggest positives, because expectations for the third-year tight end as a former first-round draft pick haven’t always been met.
“It’s huge, right?” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said of Kincaid’s start to the season. “We talked about the type of offseason that he had, that he was here and just doing everything he had to do to get ready to go. He had a strong training camp. When he’s out there making plays … good things happen.”
Kincaid is second on the team through three games with 13 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Those totals rank eighth, ninth and tied for first, respectively, among NFL tight ends.
Kincaid has proven to be a huge spark for the offense, opening with a receiving touchdown on the first drive of the game against both the Ravens in Week 1 and Dolphins in Week 3.
“The guy always finds himself in good positions. He does everything the right way,” quarterback Josh Allen said Wednesday. “He’s following the football. He’s doing a good job of catching the ball and scoring. So, we love when we can rely on somebody that when you throw it up, they’re going to come down with it, and he’s been proven to do that.”
That Allen has looked Kincaid’s way early in games often is telling. It shows that the chemistry between the pair is in a good spot after a 2024 season in which Kincaid was targeted 75 times, but finished with just 44 catches. That worked out to a 58.7 catch percentage, a number that has ballooned to a career-best 81.3% through three games this year (13 catches on 16 targets).
During the offseason, Allen shouldered some of the blame for Kincaid’s low catch percentage in 2024, saying he needed to do a better job giving the tight end better throws. As the Bills returned to the practice field Wednesday to start preparations for their Week 4 home game against the New Orleans Saints, Kincaid said it works both ways.
“I’ve got to help him out as equally as he (helps me out),” Kincaid said of Allen. “I think just communicating with him a lot more, having conversations, what he likes, what he doesn’t like and just going from there.”
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Eight of Kincaid’s catches this season have produced a first down, a total that ranks tied for sixth in the league among tight ends. One of those was actually a bit disappointing. Kincaid had a 19-yard catch against Miami on a second-and-1 play from the Dolphins’ 20-yard line, with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick stopping him just short of the goal line.
Kincaid’s teammates gave him some good-natured grief about it. The play was another example of the weapon Kincaid can be near the red zone.
“When he’s out there, a lot of good things tend to happen,” Brady said. “I’m excited that he’s playing confident. He knows he’s feeling healthy again. You can see it for sure.”
What’s interesting is that the Bills haven’t leaned on Kincaid all that heavily. The blowout win over the Jets in Week 2 led to several starters or key contributors seeing less playing time than usual, but even with that being considered, Kincaid is at 51% of the offensive snaps (112 of 220). That’s second at his position behind Dawson Knox, who has played 55% of the offensive snaps through three games.
Kincaid dealt with two separate knee injuries last season, so it’s possible the team is trying to be smart with his workload, particularly early in the season.
“Whenever you get the results and you work hard before that, it’s a great reinforcer of habits and that’s not at all to suggest he didn’t work hard prior to last season,” coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “All I can focus on and all he should be focused on is what he did this year to get himself ready to go and he put in the work.”
Buffalo News sports reporters Jay Skurski, Katherine Fitzgerald and Lance Lysowski debate some of the biggest topics surrounding the Buffalo Bills through the first three weeks of the season.
That has shown itself not just in his receiving numbers. Kincaid has developed into a capable blocker. His overall blocking grade of 70.5, according to analytics website Pro Football Focus, ranks 19th among 84 tight ends who have played at least 24 offensive snaps through three weeks. The Bills aren’t paying Kincaid to be a blocker, but being at least serviceable opens other areas of the offense.
“I’ll do whatever the team asks me to do,” Kincaid said. “Block, pass, throw, whatever they need me to do, I’ll do it.”
If Kincaid can simply produce the way he has through the first three games, that will be plenty. This is exactly what the team had in mind when it traded up to pick Kincaid in the first round of the 2023 draft. After a promising rookie season, those knee injuries heavily factored into what most considered a down second season. Kincaid lived in Buffalo in the offseason, working closely with the team’s training staff to improve his strength.
The results, as McDermott alluded, have been there. Now, the challenge is to keep it up for 17 games – and beyond.
“Starting off 3-0, that’s really all that matters,” Kincaid said. “So just continue to build on that, not get complacent. … The season is long and you go through ups and downs in that, so I think just trying to stay consistent as the season goes on and not getting too high or too low in those situations.”
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Jay Skurski
News Sports Reporter
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