Draft grades: Buffalo Bills get 'elite talent' but some experts think it was strange pick

The Buffalo Bills planned to trade down in the the first round of the NFL Draft. Then general manager Brandon Beane called an audible.

Buffalo thought Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid would be plucked before its scheduled pick at No. 27. Then something happened for the first time in NFL draft history: Four straight wide receivers were taken in the first round from No. 20 to No. 23.

Draft day trade Beane was activated.

The Bills traded up two spots to No. 25 to land the top-ranked tight end on its board. Kincaid led all FBS tight ends in receptions (70), was second in yards (890) and tied for second in touchdowns (8) in 2022.

Buffalo may have stolen Kincaid from Dallas, who picked at No. 26 and had been linked to Kincaid throughout the draft process.

More: Buffalo Bills trade up in 1st round, select Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid

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But did the Bills need a tight end? That depends if you consider Kincaid a traditional tight end. Buffalo was expected to add a wide receiver to complement Stefon Diggs and push Gabe Davis. Kincaid is a dangerous receiving threat that blurs the lines between wide receiver and tight end. Exhibit A: Kincaid made 16 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown in a win over then No. 7 USC last fall.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. was asked on SportsCenter which team made the best selection to address its specific need.

"I think when you look at the Buffalo Bills, to go up and get Dalton Kincaid one pick of the Dallas Cowboys, knowing the Cowboys had been kind of linked to Dalton Kincaid, the tight end. And Buffalo goes and gets a guy who's basically a glorified wide receiver. He will be a heck heck of a weapon for Josh Allen in that offense," Kiper Jr. said. "I thought Buffalo being aggressive and getting an extra piece of the equation for Josh Allen was a good move by Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills."

Here is how draft experts graded the pick:

Pete Prisco, CBS

This is a strange pick when you consider they have Dawson Knox and have a few more pressing needs. Kincaid is a good player, but the position doesn't make sense and they traded up to get him.

Grade: C

NFL.com

Buffalo needed to add more offensive firepower to catch up with the Bengals and Chiefs in the AFC, so I'd been projecting the team to move up in the first round to nab a playmaker. With the top receivers off the board, Kincaid's superior pass-catching skills came into focus for the Bills, as he moves like a receiver in the open field and contorts his frame to grab high and wide passes. Hopefully his back issues are behind him and he's able to connect with Josh Allen down the seam and in the red zone on a regular basis.

Grade: A-

SB Nation

Kincaid kind of feels like a luxury pick here for the Bills. What he does extremely well is essentially be a big receiver, who can navigate space extremely well and make catches outside his frame. However, the Bills still don’t have enough talent up front on the offensive line to protect Josh Allen, and defensively still need pass rush. The passing game will thrive however, and it’ll lead to fireworks. Knowing how the Bills’ season ended, though, I would think the Bills would go towards establishing the trenches.

Grade: C+

Sporting News

The Bills, after missing on the wide receiver run plus Robinson and Gibbs, trade up for a strange offensive skill pick of a tight end. That’s despite having Josh Allen favorite Dawson Knox under contract through 2026 and being a primary 11 personnel (three wideout) team. They also could have targeted some linebacker, offensive line, pass rush help for much more immediate impact as AFC title contenders.

Grade: D

Sports Illustrated

It’s impossible to argue against the value for Buffalo. The Bills got an elite talent in Kincaid, who starred in the Pac-12 last year with 890 receiving yards and eight touchdowns for the Utes. While many expected the Bills to add a receiver this offseason to pair with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, Buffalo now has a nasty two tight-end set with Kincaid and veteran Dawson Knox.

Grade: B

Fox Sports

The beauty of the 2023 tight end class is that it offers several prospects with seemingly untapped potential and many others with terrific production at the college level. Much to the delight of NFL scouts, Kincaid has both. You’ll always wish he was a little bigger, but Kincaid’s quickness, body control and soft hands are perfectly suited to the modern NFL. He should make an immediate impact on his NFL team’s passing game, justifying a first-round pick for a team comfortable with his medical after he missed much of the pre-draft process with a back injury.

Grade: B

Pro Football Focus

The Bills make a small jump to land the premier pass-catching tight end in the draft in Kincaid. This is a huge value pick for the 10th overall player on the PFF big board. Kincaid was the focal point of the Utah offense and led all players at the position with a 91.8 PFF receiving grade in 2022.

Grade: Elite

Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report

What type of player will an NFL team get in Utah's Dalton Kincaid? The kind who played through a small fracture in his back during the Pac-12 Championship Game.

"That's the reason I came back [for another season] was to win another Pac-12 championship," Kincaid told NFL Network's Omar Ruiz. "And we were able to do that, so I wasn't going to miss that game for anything."

Kincaid has been medically cleared, and he'll resume normal football activity shortly after the draft. But his team-first mentality radiates when watching his game.

The first-team All-Pac-12 performer is fearless and physical when working down the seam and after the catch. He works harder to finish blocks than a typical 6'4", 246-pound tight end normally does.

Kincaid is going to claw for every yard he can get in both phases of the game.

Purely as a receiver, Kincaid proved to be a difference-maker. In the four games he participated in against ranked opponents, including the aforementioned conference championship, the tight end caught 35 passes for 440 yards, including a 234-yard effort in the first meeting with the USC Trojans.

In a shrewd move by the Buffalo Bills, they traded ahead of the Dallas Cowboys to select Kincaid. The Cowboys don't have a starting-caliber tight end on their roster after Dalton Schultz left in free agency. Thus, the Bills moved up two spots and gave up a fourth-round pick to make sure they got the tight end of their choice.

After the unprecedented run of wide receivers earlier in the first round, the Bills still needed someone to contribute from the slot and in the red zone. The team had to re-sign Cole Beasley last season because it was lacking in both areas.

Kincaid is an instant upgrade in both instances. Technically, he's a tight end. But he's at his best when working as a detached option. His catch radius and toughness over the middle of the field cannot be questioned. Josh Allen should be one of the happiest guys in the league right now based on what the Bills accomplished in the first round.

Grade: A

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills expert draft grades for first round pick Dalton Kincaid