During Week 2 of the 2023 season, I made the trip for the weekend to the Bills hope opener. We walked into the Bills Store at Highmark Stadium, and there it was. Beautifully hanging on the wall was number 86, a Dalton Kincaid jersey. I looked at my wife and said, "he's going to be a star". I walked out of that store with the jersey and wore it every game day from that moment on. Even during the offseason, I've worn the jersey a few times during the podcast.
I meant what I said too, Kincaid will be a star in the NFL, but according to profootballnetwork.com, Kincaid wasn't good enough to make their top 25 players under 25. I might not have an issue with their ranking if not for a few names on the list that Kincaid should be ranked over, or at least right there with them. For example, Detroit Lions tight end, Sam LaPorta made the list at number 16. Don't get me wrong, LaPorta belongs on the list, but what he accomplished as a rookie last season, he did while playing 981 snaps, or more than 83% of the team's total, and receiving 120 targets. Meantime, Kincaid played 699 snaps, a little over 60%, and received only 91 targets.
Buffalo Bills Dalton Kincaid projected stats if he played as much as LaPorta
Just for fun, let's project some numbers. If Kincaid had played an equal number of snaps, he would have finished with 127 targets and 101 receptions, for over 900 yards. All three of those stats are higher than LaPorta's. LaPorta's ten touchdowns were impressive, but the point of this comparison is to show that Kincaid belongs in the top 25 under 25 rankings. He's right there with LaPorta, but other names on the rankings were the Miami Dolphins rookie De'Von Achane, who was impressive last season but played only 300 snaps, missing time due to multiple injuries. Other questionable names include the Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore, and the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.