Bills' most important offensive player other than Josh Allen not James Cook this week

The Buffalo Bills' offense is, statistically speaking, one of the NFL's best, and it's even better when tight end Dalton Kincaid is active.

After a regular season marred by hamstring and knee injuries, Kincaid appears in line to be fully available for the wild-card playoff road test against the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 11.

Still managing a knee issue that dates back to training camp, the 2023 first-round draft pick was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice in Orchard Park. Kincaid, who sat out the December 28 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, also practiced on a limited basis last week, leading into his return to the lineup against the New York Jets.

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“He hadn't played in a little bit and had been kind of practicing, not practicing. You guys are aware, we talk about that almost every day," said Bills' head coach Sean McDermott. "So I thought it was important that we got him going a little bit, but not too much to where he was too sore to come back and practice."

Jan 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) makes a catch defended by New York Jets cornerback Samuel Womack III (39) during the first half at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Seeing 10 snaps early in the 35-8 victory over the Jets on January 4, Kincaid caught all three of his targets for 48 total yards.

Kincaid's proven impact

Three of the Bills' five regular season losses happened with Kincaid sidelined.

The athletic pass-catcher has proven to open up more options across the board for the offense while providing quarterback Josh Allen with a highly reliable target. Remarkably, all 10 of Allen's interceptions came when Kincaid was not on the field.

When targeted, Kincaid accounted for a 149.2 passer rating to lead all NFL tight ends this season (per Next Gen Stats). He secured 39 of 49 targets for 571 yards and five touchdowns over 12 appearances.

As a team, the Bills averaged 23.0 points per game without Kincaid and 30.5 points per game with the tight end.

Potential vs. Jaguars

While the Bills feature the NFL's top-ranked rushing attack, Jacksonville has defended the run better than anyone. With running back James Cook facing a stiff challenge, Buffalo could look to use its run game personnel in pass-catching roles.

The Jaguars' pass defense has shown to be vulnerable against opposing tight ends, and the Bills have a duo that should be able to exploit that weakness.

In addition to Kincaid's 571 yards, Dawson Knox caught 36 passes for 417 yards. It mark the first time ever a pair of Bills' tight ends recorded 400+ receiving yards apiece in the same season.

Both players saw early action in last week's regular season finale, and it was especially beneficial for Kincaid, who had not made a reception since December 14.

"So just some momentum, some wind at his back a little bit here. I thought that was important for him, and he did a good job," said McDermott.

The Jaguars are 23rd out of 32 NFL teams in yards allowed (1,004) to opposing tight ends this season.

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