FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Is Dalton Kincaid The Bills' No. 1 Receiver?

By Jared Smola | Updated on Sat, 20 Jul 2024, 9:06 PM EDT

Bills insider Vic Carucci believes TE Dalton Kincaid could emerge as the top option in the team's passing game this season. Carucci notes the progress that Kincaid made throughout his rookie season and writes that he's "expected to take a giant leap" in year two. "I think the offense will be designed to get the ball in his hands as much as possible," Carucci adds.

What They're Saying

More from Carucci's expectations for Kincaid this season:

"His targets should increase significantly, in part because of his ability to gain separation from coverage and in part because of the design of the offense that will have him stretching the defense as well as running traditional short and intermediate tight end routes. There’s also the chemistry Kincaid has developed with Josh Allen. It was steadily improving through last season and will likely take another step because of Allen's better understanding of what Kincaid is all about and because of the work they’ve done in the offseason."

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

Carucci isn't exactly stepping out on a long limb here. The offseason departures of WRs Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis leave behind:

42% of last year's targets
39% of the catches
45% of the receiving yards
52% of the receiving TDs

Buffalo added WRs Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel to join WR Khalil Shakir -- but none of those guys is likely to emerge as a target hog this year. (Neither is WR Mack Hollins, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling or WR Chase Claypool, of course.)

That leaves Kincaid with a shot to be one of the rare TEs to lead his team in targets. And he'd be doing it on a team that's finished top nine in passing yards and TDs in four straight seasons.

While it wasn't quite Sam-LaPorta-level-good, Kincaid is coming off an impressive rookie season. He posted a 73-673-2 receiving line and the fifth most PPR points by a rookie TE over the last 10 seasons.

A significant year two leap seems likely given his talent and the opportunity in Buffalo. Kincaid is a strong bet for at least mid-range TE1 fantasy production this season. And his upside climbs into the top three at the position.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.