Time ticking on Bills' first-round TE in 'make-or-break' season

The Buffalo Bills need a breakout from TE Dalton Kincaid, who was singled out by a popular YouTuber

Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) puts his hands up and catches successfully the pass while Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke (6) keeps pace with him during the second half of the Buffalo Bills wild card game against the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Jan. 12, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat And Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK Via Imagn Images

Time is winding down on NFL players looking to prove they belong, and for the Buffalo Bills, that could be third-year tight end Dalton Kincaid.

The Bills have high hopes for the 2023 first-round draft pick, who slumped during an injury-riddled sophomore season in 2024.

Brandon Perna, a YouTube influencer known as ThatsGoodSports with more than 750,000 subscribers, highlighted Kincaid while identifying every AFC team's "make-or-break" player for 2025.

Failing to become an X-factor in the offense in the first year in the post-Stefon Diggs era, Kincaid missed three games in 2024 due to a knee injury, dealt with other ailments during the season and saw his stats decrease from 73 receptions and 673 yards in his rookie year to just 44 catches for 448 yards in Year 2.

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) drops a pass in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship Game | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Perna highlighted that despite seeing the second-most targets in the Bills offense with 75, Kincaid had a catch rate of just 59 percent. This ranked second-to-last among the nine Bills skill players with at least 25 targets in 2024. "Put simply, you expect more from a first-round tight end," said Perna, who does a morning talk show three days a week with 2023 NFL Fan of the Year Tom Grossi.

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Perna compared Kincaid's sophomore decline to that of Detroit Lion Sam LaPorta, who was selected nine picks after Kincaid as the second tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft. Even though he played three more games than Kincaid, LaPorta had 16 more catches, 278 more yards and five more touchdowns in 2024 than his counterpart.

With the wide receiver room adding free agents Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore during the offseason, the pressure is on Kincaid to rebound in an offense that's centered around giving everyone their fair share of opportunities.

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