Buffalo Bills NFL Draft 2023: Bills select Utah TE Dalton Kincaid in Round 1

The Buffalo Bills have moved up two spots in the 2023 NFL Draft to select Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid. After a historic run on wide receivers from Pick 20 through Pick 23, many thought the Bills were going to have to get creative if they wanted to land one of the remaining premiere talents at the position.

Instead, general manager Brandon Beane used creativity to exploit the draft board. Instead of potentially reaching for one of the remaining receivers, Buffalo’s brass chose to hit for the fences with another type of receiving weapon. Kincaid was a prospect widely considered to be the best tight end in his class. With a talent like that somehow still available at 25, Beane made sure to jump ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, a team often linked to the tight end position at pick 26.

Mel Kiper Jr. said of Kincaid: “He’s not a tight end. He’s a glorified wide receiver.”

In analyzing the tight ends from the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, B.J. Monacelli had this to say about Kincaid:

“Kincaid is more of your prototypical “pass-catching” tight end. It’s difficult not to think of all the fun possibilities if he was paired up with Josh Allen, I think Kincaid would be a matchup nightmare in the Bills’ offense. The 6’4”, 246-pound TE acts more like a receiver and is a more dynamic athlete than a typical TE. His ball skills are superb and his length provides him a great advantage in 50/50 balls. He has surprisingly nimble feet for a big man, may I dare say reminiscent of Travis Kelce. His blocking isn’t good and I don’t think it ever will be, but teams won’t be drafting Kincaid in the first round to be a blocker. Physicality is not his game, which can cause some problems when challenged by a physical defensive back. Overall, Kincaid has the potential to be great, and if the Bills have him fall into their lap at pick 27, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were ecstatic about it.”

To land Kincaid, One Bills Drive sent picks 27 and 130 (Round 4) to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kincaid is the first tight end drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round since 1983. That player was of course Tony Hunter out of Notre Dame, who was selected two picks ahead of Buffalo’s other first-round choice of quarterback Jim Kelly. Hunter and Kelly never played together, despite both being chosen by the Bills and Houston Gamblers of the USFL. Hunter moved on to the Los Angeles Rams before Kelly finally made the move to Orchard Park, NY.