Skip Bayless really wanted the Cowboys to select Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid, to the point where seven of Bayless’ tweets Thursday revolved around the hope of Kincaid falling to Dallas at No. 26.
Then, the Bills traded up two spots, passed the Cowboys and snagged Kincaid at No. 25 — while making sure to send a strategic tweet toward Bayless, a co-host of FS1’s “Undisputed” with Shannon Sharpe.
At 8:01 p.m., Bayless had tweeted, “Please let Dalton Kincaid fall to my Dallas Cowboys,” so the Bills quote-tweeted that with a video of Sharpe’s deep laugh followed by an “Oh boy, yeah” that echoed more of a celebratory tone than anything else.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” Bayless tweeted after the Bills selected Kincaid. “I WAS ONE PICK AWAY FROM DALTON KINCAID — AND BUFFALO LEAP-FROGGED MY COWBOYS AND STOLE HIM RIGHT OUT FROM UNDER JERRY’S UPTURNED NOSE. DEVASTATING.”
And that was just the start of his rant, which continued with a reference to his Kincaid thoughts that date back to last fall.
“I’ve been saying it since October: Dalton Kincaid is going to be a STAR – he has some Kelce in him,” Bayless wrote. “He was made for America’s Team. Now he shuffles off to Buffalo.”
Then, it appeared, Bayless thought the Cowboys would pivot to Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer and try to fill the vacancy opened when Dalton Shultz left for the Texans — referring to Mayer as a quality pick but still calling Kincaid “special.”
But the Cowboys ended up selecting defensive tackle Mazi Smith from Michigan.
“I’m just not sure about Mazi Smith,” Bayless tweeted following the pick. “I’ve HEARD good things about him. I didn’t SEE enough good things when I watched Michigan. But he can be a force. He is a need. I’ll take him over Michael Mayer. But THE pick was Kincaid.”
The Bills, who already have tight end Dawson Knox, managed to secure a player that could fill a variety of roles — and locations — within their offense, and Beane told reporters that if Kincaid wasn’t available, Buffalo might’ve traded back.
“He is a tight end, but he is a receiving tight end,” Beane told reporters following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft’s first round Thursday night. “We think he’ll pair well with [Knox] and give us another target in the middle of the field.”
Kincaid spent his first two collegiate seasons at the University of San Diego before transferring to Utah, where he caught 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns across his final two seasons.