5 storylines emerging from Buffalo Bills training camp

The Dalton Kincaid hype is real

The hype began almost immediately when the Buffalo Bills made tight end Dalton Kincaid their first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.  A lot of fans were begging the Bills brass to get Josh Allen another weapon and when they did, those same fans let out a collective groan because Kincaid is listed as a tight end.

Strange to me that some seem to quickly forget how much of a “weapon” Travis Kelce is for Patrick Mahomes or Darren Waller was for Derek Carr.  Oh, and one more, Mark Andrews for Lamar Jackson.  My point is the tight end position can be a weapon and Kincaid has drawn comparisons to Kelce ever since he entered the draft process.

Fast forward to training camp and the Bills are working Kincaid into the offense in a massive way.  Coach McDermott basically gave all those that said he doesn’t play rookies the middle finger.  If you’ve followed the NFL or are a fantasy football player, you know rookie tight ends don’t typically do much in year one; however, I think the difference here is two things.

One is simply there is a very obvious effort by this coaching staff to get Kincaid up to speed and literally used to the speed of the NFL.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a concentrated effort by a team to get a rookie, outside of quarterbacks, so involved.  It’s apparent Kincaid is going to be a big part of the Bills offense in 2023.

Secondly, Kincaid is not a tight end in the truest sense of the position.  The Bills have been using him in many different ways beyond just a traditional tight end, which will help him quickly get acclimated to the game and become an integral part of the offense.  He will pose huge match-up issues for opposing defenses.  As much as the Bills pass the ball, there will be opportunities and I can see a world where Kincaid is the NFL Rookie of the Year.