Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘The difference between the Bills’ rookie minicamp which wraps Saturday, and the OTAs which will start May 22, is that Kincaid was catching those passes not from Josh Allen, but from two guys named Quinten Dormandy and Jalen McLendon whose Bills careers will most likely be over sometime later this weekend.’

‘Still, counting the Dolphins twice, 10 of Buffalo’s 17 games will be against teams that made the playoffs last season, including the two Super Bowl participants, the champion Chiefs and runner-up Eagles.’

‘Yeah, we live in a different world and western New York football weekends are vastly different now that the Bills have become one of the NFL’s primetime or big window teams.’

‘”Hot Boyz,” read the caption on Boyd’s Instagram photo of the four players in front of a Cam-Am side-by-side vehicle in a desert.’

‘Hamlin appeared in an Instagram post Thursday with Cincinnati Bengals starting wide receivers Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd.’

‘Murray played his high school football at Onondaga Central and then attended Central Florida. The 33-year-old was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2013 and he later played for the Vikings, Saints, Ravens and Broncos.’

‘But it seems that Kincaid will be the slot receiver, and while I’m not comparing him to Travis Kelce of the Chiefs or George Kittle of the 49ers, I think that’s what the Bills want from him. A consistent, big-bodied target for Josh Allen over the middle and down the field on intermediate routes.’

‘Torrence is a 6-foot-5, 330-pound road grader who should be able to come in and push Ryan Bates for the starting job at right guard, while veteran free agents Connor McGovern and David Edwrads battle it out on the left side.’

‘But when their turn came up in the third round, they once again ignored the inside linebacker opening and picked Tulane’s Dorian Williams who general manager Brandon Beane said was more of an outside linebacker, at least at this stage of his development.’

‘The Bills make up for their questionable first-round offensive pick of tight end Dalton Kincaid by getting the much-needed powerful road grader for their running game as a needed upgrade over the “other” Connor McGovern.’

‘“Well, I lied. We traded up,” Beane said with a smile, recalling his comment from a couple weeks ago when he said if you were to make a bet in Las Vegas, the odds would be heavy that he’d try to trade back as opposed to trade up. “You guys probably knew I was going to do it anyway.”’

‘But did the Bills need a tight end? That depends if you consider Kincaid a traditional tight end. Buffalo was expected to add a wide receiver to complement Stefon Diggs and push Gabe Davis. Kincaid is a dangerous receiving threat that blurs the lines between wide receiver and tight end. Exhibit A: Kincaid made 16 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown in a win over then No. 7 USC last fall.’

‘For Buffalo, the question will be, what position will the “best player available” best suit the roster because this first round feels wide open for the Bills and Beane could go in several directions.’

‘With contracts soaring into never-before-seen stratospheres, pushing many teams to the ceiling of the salary cap, the need for low-paid rookies to contribute sooner rather than later is paramount.’

‘The contract between the team and St. John Fisher expired during the pandemic. The parties signed a one-year deal for 2022. The Bills did not disclose how long the new agreement starting in 2023 runs.’