Welcome to the party, Dalton Kincaid.
It took some time for the Buffalo Bills rookie tight end to get heavily involved in the 2023 campaign, but he’s come on strong the past two weeks.
Thursday night’s win over Tampa Bay offered his first career touchdown, taking a Josh Allen scramble-drill play 22 yards to pay dirt. Kincaid generated five catches for 65 yards and the score, adding a phenomenal sideline grab to move the chains on a third-quarter third down.
The rookie has raced to the forefront in the past two contests. In the Week 7 loss to New England, Kincaid generated career highs with eight catches for 75 yards. In the first five weeks, he earned 17 catches for 118 yards. After missing Week 6 due to a concussion, the rookie has been sensational, making 13 catches for 140 yards and a TD in two games.
“He feels like he’s been in this league for a long time,” Allen said. “He’s a professional. He takes it very serious and it’s a business to him. Just his approach has been fantastic. The trust that I have in him is gonna continue to grow and we’re gonna continue to talk about things, things that I see, whether it’s body language or where I see a route going.
“I thought he stepped up to the challenge and we’re going to have to get him more involved in the offense as the season goes by.”
Getting Kincaid more touches — especially with Dawson Knox on injured reserve — will help balance out the Bills’ offense.
The rookie wasn’t the only one who had a big night. Second-year wideout Khalil Shakir set career highs with six catches for 92 yards, and No. 2 wideout Gabe Davis generated nine grabs for 87 yards and a TD. Allen noted that getting Davis more involved in the short game, as opposed to deep shots, helped diversify the offense.
“It’s hard to always throw it downfield to a certain guy and I think that’s hard for him as well,” Allen said. “So to develop some of this underneath stuff and allow him to put the ball in his hands and make some plays, I think in turn will open up some of the other stuff. I thought (offensive coordinator Ken) Dorsey did a great job of giving us stuff that we were familiar with.”
Stefon Diggs still got his targets, catching nine of 12 targets for 70 yards, but it wasn’t a one-man show as it’s been at times this season. When Allen spreads the ball around like he did Thursday, the Bills’ offense is far more dangerous to defend than when he’s force-feeding Diggs.
The key for Buffalo moving forward is getting consistency from Kincaid, Shakir and Davis, and Allen continuing to trust them to make plays.
