Grading Buffalo Bills drafting Dalton Kincaid in 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night and the Buffalo Bills had to wait until the end of the round to make their first pick. The first round started off about as good as it could as four quarterbacks were drafted before their pick.

This caused wide receivers to drop as none were drafted in the first 19 picks before the Seattle Seahawks took Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Unfortunately, four wide receivers would be drafted in a row with Quentin Johnston going to the Chargers, Zay Flowers going to the Ravens and Jordan Addison to the Vikings.

The run forced general manager Brandon Beane once again to make another small trade up in the first round. The Buffalo Bills traded up two spots last year to select cornerback Kaiir Elam and this year moved up two spots by trading away their fourth round pick to select Dalton Kincaid.

Grade for the Buffalo Bills selecting Dalton Kincaid in the 2023 NFL Draft: B+

For only the second time as general manager of the Bills, Brandon Beane selects an offensive player in the first round with the selection of tight end Dalton Kincaid. He was the first tight end drafted in this year’s NFL Draft and is considered one of the best at his position.

He had an incredible season last year for Utah with 70 receptions, 890 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Kincaid is an athletic tight end that is going to be moved around and not a traditional inline tight end because he is not an excellent run blocker.

Kincaid should be a red zone threat with his size and does give Ken Dorsey some flexibility in terms of his playbook as the Buffalo Bills can now run more two-tight end sets. He is a good player and may not be the biggest need but it does make the offense better and gives Josh Allen another weapon. After the run at wide receivers, this is a pick that makes sense.