SALT LAKE CITY, April 27, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — University of Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid was invited to join one of NFL’s best offenses Thursday night when the Buffalo Bills made him the 25th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Kincaid, 23, celebrated his first-round selection with family and friends in Henderson, Nevada, after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called his name from the NFL Draft stage at Kansas City’s Union Station.
“Go Bills,” he said after getting a call from the team.
Led by quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills ranked second only to the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs in total offense with 397.6 yards per game in 2022.
Kincaid is the 10th Ute to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, joining Devin Lloyd (2022), Garett Bolles (2017), Star Lotulelei (2013), Alex Smith (2005), Jordan Gross (2003), Kevin Dyson (1998), Luther Elliss (1995), Norm Thompson (1971) and Lee Grosscup (1959).
It also marks the first time Utah has had players selected in the first round on back-to-back years. Lloyd was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 27th pick in 2022.
Kincaid took a nontraditional path to the NFL, initially choosing to focus on basketball during his high school years in Las Vegas. He played just one season of football at Faith Lutheran High School but was an all-state selection in 2017.
Kincaid began his college football career at the University of San Diego, which does not offer student-athlete scholarships. He played in 24 games over two seasons for the Toreros, finishing with 68 catches, 1,209 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns.
Utah offered Kincaid a scholarship prior to the 2020 season. The 6-foot-4, 246-pound tight end saw action in all five games of the pandemic-shortened season and had just one catch for 14 yards.
In his first full season with the Utes, Kincaid played in all 14 games and emerged as a reliable threat in the passing game. He finished the season with 36 catches for 510 yards and eight touchdowns, and earned an All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention.
Kincaid’s final season at Utah cemented him as a pro prospect, leading all FBS tight ends in receiving yards (890) and receiving yards per game (74.2), and ranking second in TDs with eight. The fifth-year senior’s stellar season was rewarded with a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team and an All-American Third Team selection by The Associated Press.
Kincaid missed one regular-season game with a back injury, which also sidelined him for the Rose Bowl. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on April 12 that Dalton’s doctor sent a letter to NFL teams fully clearing him to play football with no restrictions.
NFL insiders projected Kincaid going anywhere between 15th and 28th in mock drafts leading up to the 2023 event. He’s often compared to Arizona Cardinals TE Zach Ertz, as an athletic pass catcher and solid route runner.
Kincaid was the lone player with Utah ties to be selected in first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday. The three-day event continues at 5 p.m. MDT Friday with the second and third rounds, with the fourth-seventh rounds getting underway at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Other former college stars in Utah who could hear their names called in the 2023 NFL Draft include BYU quarterback Jaren Hall (Maple Mountain), offensive tackle Blake Freeland (Herriman), wide receiver Puka Nacua (Orem) and cornerback Kaleb Hayes; and Utah CB Clark Phillips III, guard Braeden Daniels and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate.
Three other former Utah prep stars also have been projected as draft picks: East High defensive tackle Siaki Ika (Baylor), Orem LB Noah Sewell (Oregon) and Olympus TE Cameron Latu (Alabama).
