Just a few days ago, the Buffalo Bills made their most significant draft investment in an offensive player by picking Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid as their top pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft and trading up to No. 25 to make the deal successful.
Many veteran analysts across the NFL had high praises for the move, with The Athletic’s Dane Brugler citing Dalton as “the best pure pass catcher in the entire draft”, however, expecting him to lead the football field in the rookie year also appears to be unrealistic.
Bills’ top pick Dalton Kincaid might not become a breakout star immediately says league analyst
While citing whether Buffalo had a better pick in the squad from last season, The Ringer‘s Sheil Kapadia stated the Bills could have used better line play and mentioned trading up for drafting Kincaid in the first round comes up with some major challenges.
“Offensively, the Bills finished second in DVOA last year, and they’ve been in the top 10 for three consecutive seasons, but they could use better line play and someone other than Stefon Diggs to threaten defenses. They traded up for tight end Dalton Kincaid in the first round, but expectations for Kincaid in the first year should be tempered”, he said.
The 6-foot-4 and 242-pounder TE may provide his team the edge they need, albeit projecting him to become a “true difference-maker” in the league immediately is unrealistic.
“Tight ends selected in the first round over the past 10 years have produced 37.7 catches for 483.4 yards and 2.9 touchdowns on average as rookies. In other words, Kincaid can be a contributor, but history suggests he’s unlikely to become a true difference-maker immediately”, the source added.
However, the Bills believed the TE with 10 1/4-inch hands Kincaid might fit on the field at the same time as TE Dawson Knox and Kincaid too expects himself to become the versatile player the franchise needs.
“I feel like you can line me up in the slot, in-line, you can spread me out. So I feel like one of my strengths is being able to do all that. And then, with that comes having to learn all that. So I like to pride myself on being smart. So I feel like that kind of ties in with what I do well on the field”, he cited.
The Las Vegas native played at the San Diego Toreros team from 2018-19 before his time at the University of Utah and recorded over 1,000 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns during the tenure.
When the Bills expressed confidence in Kincaid’s abilities and potential, some fans and pundits voiced doubts about the young player’s readiness for the rigors of the NFL. Only time will tell whether he will be able to prove the skeptics wrong and become the breakout star the Buffalo team is hoping for.
However, many also remain optimistic about the young tight end’s potential to develop into a star player in the years to come and are eager to see how he performs in the upcoming season.
