ORCHARD PARK — Dalton Kincaid caught a quick screen pass and turned upfield. As he saw the end zone and one man to beat, his legs gave out around the 5-yard line.
But Kincaid wasn’t going to finish the play without a trophy.
Knowing his momentum wasn’t going to carry him past Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, Kincaid lowered his shoulder and made first contact before falling to the turf. It drew a big reaction from the Buffalo Bills bench and teammates Khalil Shakir and Spencer Brown, who raced to help him to his feet after a 19-yard gain.
It was a play many didn’t think was in Kincaid’s arsenal when he was 25th overall in the 2023 NFL draft. He was viewed as a finesse tight end, more of a big wide receiver. Even Bills general manager Brandon Beane referred to him as such after the draft.
But after being challenged by the Bills front office and coaching staff to beef up during the offseason so he could withstand the wear and tear of a season, Kincaid has shown a new edge to his game. That led to improving as a blocker, including a big block to spring Shakir for the go-ahead touchdown in a 31-21 Week 3 win over the Dolphins.
“Football is a violent game,” Kincaid said. “We see (rookie Spencer) Hawes bringing that each and every day. So that’s a good reminder.”
Kincaid’s play is a reminder the Bills weren’t questioning his physical toughness because that hasn’t been in doubt. He played through a broken finger late in his rookie season and played the back half of last year with a torn PCL.
What the Bills wanted is for Kincaid to add more strength to potentially avoid some of those injuries as the season progresses. So when the Bills need him late in the year, Kincaid is available.
After the Bills attempted to rest Kincaid for three weeks, his production was limited when he returned last year. He had four catches for 53 yards against the Detroit Lions in Week 15, but a combined six catches for 39 yards in the following two games.
And he had just six catches for 71 yards in the playoffs, including two for 13 in the AFC championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Over the final two games of his rookie season, Kincaid had 11 catches for 171 yards and then added eight grabs for 104 yards and a touchdown in two playoff games.
“Whenever you get the results and you work hard before that, it’s a great reinforcer of habits,” McDermott said. “That’s not at all to suggest he didn’t work hard prior to last season. All I can focus on and all he should be focused on is what he did to get himself ready to go. And he put in the work.”
The work has led Kincaid to have 13 receptions for 151 yards on 16 targets — all No. 2 on the team behind Keon Coleman — and a career-best 11.6 yards per catch through the first three games. And quarterback Josh Allen has looked for Kincaid early in games to get into a rhythm.
Seven of his targets have come in the first quarter — with two more in the first three minutes of the second — and he’s got six catches for 63 yards in the opening frame, including opening-drive touchdowns against the Ravens and Dolphins.
“He’s a huge spark for our offense, and when he’s out there, a lot of good things tend to happen,” Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. “… I’m excited that he’s playing confident. And he knows he’s feeling healthy again and you can see it.”
One area Kincaid’s game hasn’t shined during the early stages of his career is in the red zone. During his first two seasons, Kincaid had just 10 catches (two touchdowns) on 19 targets inside an opponent’s 20.
Just 10.4% of Kincaid’s targets have come in the red zone, compared to fellow tight end Dawson Knox, who’s seen 20% of his career targets and 18 of his 23 touchdowns come in the red zone.
It’s not because Allen lacks confidence in Kincaid, finishing second on the team in targets the last few years. But the two weren’t on the same page frequently last year, as Kincaid’s catch rate plummeted from 80.2% as a rookie to 58.7% last season.
Allen shouldered the blame during the offseason, saying he missed Kincaid a few times. But most of it was due to injuries and Kincaid not being able to physically track down balls or get to spots at the rate he did when healthy.
Not only is Kincaid catching the ball at his normal rate, but Allen has targeted him five times in the red zone, including three against the Dolphins. Both of Kincaid’s touchdowns have come in the red zone and he nearly had another in the second quarter against Miami had it not been for a perfectly-timed deflection by safety Ashtyn Davis.
“Obviously it works both ways,” Kincaid said. “I got to help (Allen) as equally as he is. So I think just communicating with him a lot more, having conversations (about) what he likes, what he doesn’t like and then just going from there.”
NOTES: RT Spencer Brown (calf), LB Matt Milano (pectoral) and DT Ed Oliver (ankle) did not practice Wednesday, with McDermott saying all are improving. … Brown told One Bills Live the injury happened on the first drive against Miami and that he “should be good to go.” … DE A.J. Epenesa (pectoral) was limited. … RB Ray Davis had the back of his leg checked by trainers during practice and wore a sleeve on his left leg walking off after practice, but did not appear on the injury report.