PITTSFORD — Dalton Kincaid hauled in a Josh Allen pass and carried into the end zone on the first 11-on-11 play of training camp.
It proved to be a good sign for the Buffalo Bills offense.
Bills quarterbacks went interception-less — and the lone sack on Allen came to Von Miller — as they focused on red zone offense during team sessions, getting the better of the defense on the day. Kincaid snatched five of Allen’s eight touchdowns, including one he leaped and tapped two feet down in front of the goalposts.
The Buffalo offense flaunted their newly-acquired size with receivers Keon Coleman and Mack Hollins getting the bulk of first-team work in the red zone. Nineteen of Allen’s 29 touchdown passes came in the red zone last year, but 11 went to Stefon Diggs or Gabriel Davis.
Kincaid and Dawson Knox saw just 12 targets total in the red zone last season, but size near the end zone is clearly an emphasis. The 6-foot-4 Hollins has scored six of his 10 career touchdowns inside the 20 yard line, while eight of the 6-3 Coleman’s 12 red-zone catches in college went for touchdowns.
“If you saw me throwing it after (practice) with Mack Hollins, I can’t throw the ball high enough,” Allen said. “Even if I get him jumping, it’s still not where they want it. I gotta keep getting it as high as possible and creating as much separation as I can against those DBs and utilize their height and their tools to go up and catch a ball. So it’s something we’re gonna keep working on, I’m excited.”
Coleman had a solid opening day for the Bills offense, as the rookie caught a touchdown and wasn’t able to get his feet inbounds on a second. Allen disagreed, even after practice, but the referees ruled him out.
On his touchdown, Coleman ran a route that took him from the right of Allen, across the back of the end zone, but he was tightly covered by Kaiir Elam. When Allen began to scramble to his right, Coleman peeled back and the Bills didn’t pick him up.
The second could have been a highlight reel grab, with Coleman leaping and spinning in the air, but he wasn’t able to complete the catch in the eyes of the officials. While the Bills did not show the full depth of their offense working on situation-specific plays, they used a great deal of motion and shifts before the snap.
“As spring went on, I saw him start to get more and more comfortable,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I saw Josh spending more and more time with him being intentional about that and building that rapport and chemistry and then I saw him really starting to win some of those one on ones that happened from time to time and his position.”
Hamlin runs with No. 1 defense, Milano returns
Damar Hamlin had one of the few bright spots for the Bills defense in 11-on-11 sessions, knocking down a late pass from Allen over the middle of the end zone, earning all of the first-team reps at safety alongside Taylor Rapp.
Rapp is assumed to be a lock to start, but the other safety job is up for grabs, with Hamlin, veteran Mike Edwards and rookie Cole Bishop vying for the other spot. Edwards participated sparingly during minicamp due to offseason shoulder surgery, while the Bills plan to ease Bishop into the defense.
Edwards seems like the betting favorite to capture the job until Bishop acclimates himself enough to play, while Hamlin is the darkhorse. He was active in 29 of his first 32 games in the NFL, starting 13 in 2022 before suffering commotio cordis.
Hamlin didn’t appear himself for most of last season and was only active in five games, playing 17 defensive snaps all season. The depth chart can change quickly in the NFL, but Hamlin is trying to get back to form that saw him make 91 tackles as a starter.
“He came back hungry,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “One of the things he said to me and I feel like he said it to others is, `I got through last year,’ last year being like the first year. … his focus was like, `No, I want to go win a job. I want to show I can prove that I can start and help and make plays.’ And so that’s been his focus.”
All 91 players on the roster were dressed and participated completely in practice, including linebacker Matt Milano, who returns after being out since Week 5 of last year with a lower leg injury. Milano, who turns 30 years old July 28, competed in individual drills during minicamp, but not 11-on-11 or seven-on-sevens.
“This was probably as good as we could have hoped that he would be starting camp,” Beane said. “And we got to manage and we got to be smart. … He’s going to want to practice every day. I don’t think that’s realistic. But it’s good to see him out there. Like anything, I’m sure he probably thinks, ‘Oh, man, I used to make that play.’ Or, ‘I would have made that play.’. But I think over time, we’ll see him blending back in.”
Extracurricular activities
It was the first day, but that didn’t stop competitive fire from coming out. Receiver Chase Claypool caught a touchdown pass in front of cornerback Christian Benford and tossed the ball to Benford, who threw the ball back at Claypool as he trotted back to the huddle.
On the next play, Claypool slipped attempting to make a break on his route and Benford stood overtop of him and offered a few words. The incident didn’t go any further and can likely be chalked up to basic training camp competition, but it’s worth noting that Claypool wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh and Chicago, while Benford is known as one of the quietest players on the team.