Kincaid has two catches, bad fumble in Week 3 win

Kincaid did nearly all of his damage in the short area of the field, but his fantasy managers will take any kind of volume they can get after a three-week stretch where Kincaid saw a dismal seven combined targets. Kincaid’s eight targets led all Bills pass-catchers in this one, and were it not for an 18-yard touchdown taken off the board by a holding penalty, he could have been in line for a much bigger day. It’s far too early to say that Kincaid is “back,” but fantasy managers can at least be happy with a decent day of production. The Bills are now entering their bye week, but Kincaid will be boom-or-bust TE1 in Week 8 against the Ravens.

With the game tied at 23-23, Kincaid returned to the field with the Bills attempting to take the lead. Whatever he’s dealing with appears to be minor at this point, so he’ll likely attempt to gut out the remainder if this one.

Kincaid exited in the third quarter and went to the blue medical tent before eventually heading for the locker room. Kincaid could be seen holding his ribs while running a route earlier in the game and was in the midst of a good performance. We will check back in with any updates we receive.

The Bills clearly came into this one intent on establishing the run, attempting 37 rushes to just 19 Josh Allen pass attempts in a game played without both DJ Moore and Joshua Palmer. Kincaid has now seen three or fewer targets in each of his last three games after erupting for 225 yards through the air in the first two weeks. The ceiling was never in question, but fantasy managers have to be reeling after three consecutive down performances for the enigmatic tight end. Kincaid remains an upside TE1 ahead of a Week 6 meeting with the Raiders.

Kincaid had just two targets in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots after seeing three looks last week against the Chargers. He’s cooled off considerably after a hot start to the 2026 season. “There’s no reason Dalton Kincaid should have two targets, especially with the flow of the game and how that goes,” a visibly frustrated Brady said after Buffalo’s Week 4 loss. “Gotta find a way to get the ball in his hands and do a better job of that.” Against the Patriots Kincaid was targeted on just 8 percent of his routes. He’ll look to bounce back next week against the Rams.

The Bills’ offense was struggling to move the ball during this game, and DJ Moore left early with a shoulder injury, so it’s almost inexcusable that Kincaid wasn’t used more often. Kincaid played one fewer snap than Dawson Knox but ran 22 routes to Knox’s 10. Still, Josh Allen dropped back to throw 40 times, and Khalil Shakir ran a route on 34 dropbacks, so there is no reason for Kincaid to run 12 fewer than that over the whole game. He ran fewer routes than Josh Palmer and only six more routes than Moore, who only played one and a half quarters. The Bills will need to find a way to get Kincaid back into their plans before Monday night’s game against the Rams.

Kincaid truly did it all in this one, routinely in the middle of the blocking scrum on long James Cook runs in addition to his work through the air. His 95 yards handily paced the team, with his first touchdown of the young season coming from 16 yards out near the end of the second quarter. Kincaid remains one of the most efficient pass-catchers in the league on a per-route basis and has worked his way into the upper echelon of fantasy assets at the position. He remains a locked-in TE1 when the Bills host the Jets in Week 3.

Kincaid, according to Fowler, “could be the real key to elevating Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense this season.” Fowler added “multiple people with the team told me Kincaid is healthier than he was this time last year and is on no snap restrictions.” This is further confirmation that Kincaid won’t see the highly restrictive usage of the Sean McDermott era in Buffalo. Head coach Joe Brady is keen on using Kincaid both as an intermediate threat and a downfield option. Kincaid in Week 1 against the Texans led all tight ends in air yards (94) and ran a route on nearly 70 percent of the Bills’ drop backs. He could be an elite every-week option going forward.

Kincaid was the recipient of many of Josh Allen’s biggest throws of the game, including a 35-yarder to put him over 100 yards on Buffalo’s final non-kneeldown drive. Kincaid played 42-of-57 snaps, a 73 percent rate he never came close to hitting in any game last year. It sure seems like there’s no reason for the Bills to not target him if he can stay healthy; so it will be hard to not recommend him as a TE1 against the Lions on TNF.

The most efficient tight end in the NFL over the past two seasons, Kincaid ran a pass route on a meager 45 percent of Buffalo’s drop backs over 12 games in 2025, finishing the season with 49 targets while being targeted on a hefty 28 percent of his routes. Finally healthy, Kincaid has been talked up by Bills coaches over the past few months. Bills players and beat writers have even complimented Kincaid’s blocking, a point of concern for the fourth-year tight end. Buscaglia said if Kincaid can “be just competent enough in blocking to preserve the threat of play action when he’s on the field and continue to crush receiving efficiency metrics, he’ll become one of the most important pieces to the roster.” Kincaid is a high upside swing late in drafts for those who fade the game’s top tight ends.