How Bills Dalton Kincaid will make Josh

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The have been one of the most dominant teams acro s the last three regular seasons, leading the league in points per game (29.4) and points allowed per game (19.4) in that span. However, they have also continually bumped their head on a golden ceiling in the postseason, losing to the two teams to represent the AFC in the acro s the last three years in the and the .Quarterback once again provided Buffalo with gigantic production in 2022, ranking second in the entire NFL to only MVP in total yards (5,045) and total touchdowns (42). The i sue was he also led the league in turnovers with 19 -- 14 interceptions (tied for the third-most in the NFL) and five fumbles lost (tied for the second-most in the NFL). Allen became erratic as Buffalo asked him to be its No. 2 running back -- his 124 carries and 762 rushing yards were the second-most on the team while his  A. J. Pollock Jersey seven rushing scores led the Bills -- behind ."I know this sounds crazy, but I'm getting older," Allen said April 19, . "It's like I can't continue to do this. I know when I'm using my youth I feel like I can, but over the course of my career, I'm going to have to learn to adapt and change. And I've always had the mindset of I've been a football player first and a quarterback second, and at some point that's going to have to switch. When that point is I don't know; I gue s I'll let my body tell me."             BUF  QB  #17  CMP%63.3YDs4283TD35INT14YD/Att7.55 Naturally, general manager Brandon Beane heard the face of his franchise's me sage loud and clear, so he prioritized making Allen's life easier in the 2023 . Then, perhaps Allen won't feel the Blank Jersey  need to be Superman and act as another rusher on top of being the team's pa sing game conductor. Buffalo selected the draft's top pa s-catching tight end, Utah's , 25th overall, and one of the draft's top offensive guards, Florida's , 59th overall (Round 2), with its first two picks. Beane even parted with a fourth-round pick to move up two spots (from 27 to 25) in order to select the first tight end in the draft.  The vision: providing the football equivalent of bumpers at a bowling alley over the middle of the field to limit Allen's gutter balls (giveaways) thanks to having two capable pa s-catching tight ends who are both at least 6-foot-4 while weighing at least 240 pounds in Kincaid and . It's the same strategy Beane utilized as a member of the  Abraham Almonte Jersey front office in the early 2010s when building around another dual-threat dynamo and eventually 2015 NFL MVP . Current Bills head coach Sean McDermott also observed Newton's development with a similar roster construction in Carolina, as he was the Panthers defensive coordinator from Newton's rookie year in 2011 through the 2016 season."We've been looking for another tight end," Beane April 27 after Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. "When we just drafted Cam Newton in Carolina, the first year we had Jeremy Shockey and then we traded for in training camp, just two guys to work the middle of the field. Twelve personnel one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers was one of our stronger personnels."We're more of an 11 one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers team, but again. with Kincaid , we're kind of an 11.5 when he's in the game. It's not two true Y's tight ends who exclusively line up on the end of scrimmage next to the offensive line . Kincaid is a piece that can work the the inside of the field for us, and we Matt Szczur Jersey 're excited to get him here. Really good hands."  Newton's first year with the two tight end setup ended up being his most prolific in terms of pa sing yards (4,051), as he became the first rookie in NFL history to throw for more than 4,000 yards. Only three others have done so since: Andrew Luck (2012), (2015) and (2020). Beane made it crystal clear that Kincaid was the Bills' only option in Round 1 and that his role with the team is as the "F tight end" or the third receiver in 11-personnel formations. While the team signed Knox to a four-year, $52 million extension a year ago, Kincaid will not be playing Knox's role. Knox serves as the "Y tight end," a player who regularly lines up on the line of scrimmage next to offensive linemen and carries regular blocking responsibilities in addition to a route-running role Matt Andriese Jersey ."If Dalton was not there, we would've traded back," Beane said. "We just really liked him and just felt he would be a great fit in our offense. He is a tight end but he is a receiving tight end. We think he'll pair well with Dawson and give us another target in the middle of the field.  Jorge De La Rosa Jersey So yeah, when he and Dawson are in the game you're in '12' but it's quasi-like '11' anyway. ... He's not your standard Y tight end. He's going to be flexed out a lot more than nece sarily you would do with Dawson."I think that Kincaid is just another weapon for offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey," Beane continued. "Dawson's still gonna be very involved. Like I said, Dawson will play more of that traditional 'Y.' Kincaid will play more of the 'F' for us, so like I said -- it'll just be a different package. But Dawson is a clearly better in-line blocker, still a receiving threat, so I don't think Dawson's gonna be goin' anywhere."               BUF  TE  #86  The reason Beane is categorizing Kincaid as e sentially an additional receiver is because Allen performed significantly better in 11 personnel than he did in 12 personnel in 2022 when facing defensive sub-packages instead of his opponents' base defenses. The Bills, as a result, lined up in 11 personnel 68.4% of the time last season, the ninth-highest rate in the NFL. On the flip side, they avoided the two tight end look like the plague a year ago, lining up in 12 personnel a league-low 3.7% of the time. However, the Bills didn't have a jumbo-sized receiver with Kincaid's route-running fluidity last year, either.Josh Allen pa sing in 11 personnel vs. 12 personnel in 2022 Alex Avila Jersey  (NFL ranks)11 Personnel12 PersonnelComp Pct64% (22nd)66.7% (T-14th)Pa s YPG206.4 (5th)8.5 (22nd)Pa s Yards/Att7.5 (7th)6.0 (29th)TD-INT30-12 (11th)0-0 (No rank)Pa ser Rating98.2 (6th)82.8 (25th)The long-term game plan is clearly to have Kincaid as the team's new slot wide receiver over the middle with and on the outside since Beane likened Kincaid to their former third option over the middle, . But the difference between Kincaid (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) and Beasley (5-foot-8, 174 pounds) is stark. With Kincaid's additional catch radius, the Bills believe there's another, more efficient Allen that can be unlocked while playing football on rookie mode instead of "All-Madden," the hardest level in the league's video game series."Elite hands, really good route-runner, good feel setting up guys inside," Arizona Diamondbacks Jersey  Beane said of Kincaid. "There's always the card as a player telling you what to do eight yards here or there, but sometimes the defense changes, and this guy's got great feel, great instinct. You guys saw from a different position, Cole Beasley, g