The overwhelming thought process was that if there was a rookie tight end that was going to have a huge season last year, it was going to be Dalton Kincaid. Unfortunately, that just didn't end up happening. Not an overall bad season considering the fact that rookie tight ends very rarely make an impact—alright, Sam LaPorta ruins that argument from last season—but last year was really inconsistent, and that is where things got really frustrating for fantasy owners.
Throughout the first six weeks of last season, Kincaid missed more games than he had tight end one finishes. His highest finish in any week was tight end 17 through the first six weeks. But things seemed to be progressing because after coming back from that injury, boom, five straight tight end one finishes. At that point, it looked like Dalton Kincaid had firmly pushed himself into a major role in the Bills' offense.
But come to find out, it was really only because Dawson Knox missed those games. Yeah, Kincaid had stepped up his production, but then Dawson Knox came back and Kincaid was right back where we were at the beginning of the season—four straight weeks of finishes outside the top 12 tight ends.
Now, 2024 is going to be very, very interesting because no more Stefon Diggs and no more Gabe Davis. So, is Dalton Kincaid really going to be the guy to step up and become one of the main targets in this offense? The hope is yes, but we have to keep in mind that Josh Allen loves himself some Dawson Knox once they get into the red zone. Also, is Kincaid going to be used on the in-line in two tight end sets? Are they going to split him out wide? Is he going to be in the slot?
There's a lot of questions that are going to have to be answered about Kincaid, and honestly, I don't want to overdraft him this year because there are guys going behind him that have just as much risk (see George Kittle). There are guys going behind him that have a way safer floor (see Evan Engram). For me personally, Dalton Kincaid this season—I'm almost willing to miss out on his potential upside and invest in somebody that is either going to have just as much upside but I've seen him do it before and I know their role in the offense, like George Kittle, or I'll invest in somebody with a lot better floor that I feel like I can count on more, knowing his role in the offense as well, like Evan Engram.
Comments