When the Buffalo Bills traded up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to acquire tight end Dalton Kincaid, the hope was that he would be a Travis Kelce-like player to Buffalo’s offense. If I’m being honest, Kincaid hasn’t exactly lived up to the first-round hype the last two years. He gets a pass in his rookie season because even though he only scored two touchdowns, he did manage to play in 16 games and finished with 673 yards.
Last season though is a different story. He only played in 13 games (starting in nine) due to a knee injury he suffered in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts that made him miss three games. He averaged just 34 yards per game, but was somehow still the best tight end statistically for the Bills. Either way, he’s not doing his part in living up to being a solid first-round pick.
The first season, he gets a pass. However, last season was discouraging. Now he heads into 2025 which is a make-or-break season for his future in Buffalo.
3 reasons why Dalton Kincaid must shine in 2025
Down year in 2024
Due to the knee injury, Kincaid missed three weeks but outside of that, he wasn’t productive whatsoever. He didn’t have more than 53 yards in a game and caught just 58.7% of his targets. It’s time for him to bounce back in his third season and show Bills Mafia why Buffalo traded up to acquire him when they didn’t really need to.
Not a lot of competition to get catches
The Bills didn’t do a ton of addition to their receiving room this offseason. While they did add Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore, it’s a similar room that Kincaid is part of. Rookie tight end Jackson Hawes is not a receiving tight end so that eliminates one potential teammate from stealing catches.
While Dawson Knox has a great connection with Josh Allen, he’s not a receiving threat that Kincaid can be. With the Bills being limited on their offensive additions this offseason, this should be encouraging for Kincaid to get more involved than he has.
Fifth-year option on rookie contract
Due to the fact that Kincaid was a first-round pick, the Bills will have to make a decision after the 2025 season on whether or not they will pick up the fifth-year option on his contract. As of right now, it is hard to imagine Brandon Beane making the move to give Kincaid the fifth year in Buffalo. Unless he can take a Josh Allen-like step in 2025, Kincaid might only play four years on a rookie deal.