Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane felt a run on wide receivers or tight ends would happen at some point during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. So it did, with WRs being selected with picks 20-23.
With the first-round wideout board cleaned out for most teams at that point, the Bills made their move to secure their top tight end, Dalton Kincaid. Beane said he expected the Utah product to be gone by the early 20s, and when the TE fell, he pounced.
"That's when we started making calls to the teams in front of us," Beane said Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "For us, it was worth giving up that pick to ensure we got him."
Beane traded the No. 27 pick and a fourth-rounder to Jacksonville to leapfrog Dallas for the 25th selection. While trading down is preferable for most GMs, the deft ones know when to give up assets for a player they desire.
"I thought there were some teams in the teens that could say, 'Hey, I'm gonna add a Dalton Kincaid,'" Beane said of his need to move up two slots to snag the TE.
The Bills expect Kincaid to "pair well" with veteran Dawson Knox, and the rookie should help improve Buffalo's red zone offense, which relied too much in previous seasons on Josh Allen's heroics.
