Buffalo Bills TE Dalton Kincaid talks personal growth and team culture during OTAs

On Tuesday, Buffalo Bills 2023 first-round pick Dalton Kincaid spoke to the media about the changes to this year’s offense and how he has grown as a player from his first camp with the Bills to on his second.

“Obviously the room is a lot different this year,” the tight end said when asked about the offense and addressing the obvious: that the Bills have done an (almost) complete overhaul of the wide receivers room. “Just a lot of unselfish guys. I feel like this transition has gone very well.

Kincaid said the “new guys” are fitting in and “mixing well” with the remaining members of last year’s offense and that everyone is buying into the culture that head coach Sean McDermott has meticulously built over the past seven years.

Asked about the new direction of offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who is in his first offseason in the role he was given in Week 11 of last year, Kincaid said he likes the “spread the ball” and answered whether he thought he would be a top target now that Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis have left Buffalo.

“I wouldn’t say I’m the guy. I think we have quite a few weapons on offense,” he said. “You know, we’re going to get everyone open, and with Josh there, he’s going to get everyone the ball. I’m definitely thinking about a few more goals this year, which will be nice.

Asked specifically what changed after Brady took over the offense in November, Kincaid said it was more of a mental change than anything else.

“Joe has been great in terms of mentality and energy on a daily basis,” he responded. ” It’s contagious. As an offense as a whole, I think we all feel that way.

The second-year tight end admitted the playbook has changed this season and having almost the entire offense in OTAs was helpful in implementing it quickly.

“I wouldn’t say it’s changed a ton, but we’ve made a lot of changes since last year,” Kincaid said. “I think the creativity and freedom he has right now to test things is extremely helpful.”

Kincaid said he could see the confidence and comfort Brady was developing in terms of calling plays and creating a playbook around the players he has rather than trying to fit in the plays he has in an already established plan.

As for Kincaid himself, he said this year’s offseason is different from last on a personal level due to his own availability.

“Last offseason, I didn’t really get to practice much before I got here for OTAs because I was injured,” he said. “I don’t want to say it’s been more fun, but just being able to participate in practices and stuff in February and March, I feel a lot better.”

He said being back with the team’s strength and conditioning team has actually been fun.

“You know, we compete in the weight room, we compete here,” he said. “As a competitive person, it’s fun to be around people who strive to improve. But I definitely think there’s a difference between this year and last year.

Kincaid said the focus was on him getting stronger in the offseason and changing his diet was as much a part of that as being in the weight room. He also said he focused on improving press and man defense.

“Especially guys that come in and try to put pressure on you and slow you down and kind of disrupt your rhythm and your routes,” he talked about the biggest changes he had to make between his rookie season and his second year.

Before the media session ended, Kincaid was asked about adopting the “everyone eats” mindset of Brady’s offense with his new leadership role, but the tight end addressed the question with class.

“It’s just the culture of this team. There are just a lot of selfless guys who just want to win,” he replied. “That comes from, you know, doing whatever is asked of you to help the team win.”