ORCHARD PARK - Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane went into the 2023 NFL Draft armed with only six picks, and after a little wheeling and dealing, he ended up making only two of those picks in their original spot.

The first move came in the first round when Beane got antsy regarding the availability of tight end Dalton Kincaid at Buffalo’s No. 27 slot, so he traded up to Jacksonville at No. 25 to get his man, but that also cost him his fourth-round pick.

After grabbing guard O’Cyrus Torrence in the second round and linebacker Dorian Williams in the third, Beane sat out the fourth round, then got busy again. He traded down 13 places in the fifth round to No. 150 overall and selected wide receiver Justin Shorter, but also recouped a sixth-round pick from the Commanders.

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He then made two trades that cost him that sixth-round pick plus Buffalo’s original in the sixth, but that netted him four picks - a pair of seventh-rounders which he used on cornerback Alex Austin and offensive lineman Nick Broeker, but more importantly, two sixth-round picks for the 2024 draft.

So obviously, with only three selections among the first 149 players who were drafted, not a whole lot was expected from the breadth of the Bills’ 2023 rookie class.

In the end, only four of the players made the team, only three played, and two became starters. This was the fewest number of contributors the Bills have had from a rookie class since their six-man group of 2005 when only wide receiver Roscoe Parrish, offensive guard Duke Preston and defensive back Eric King got on the field as rookies.

But there is no comparison in production as that 2005 threesome made a combined 41 appearances with just three starts; the 2023 threesome made a combined 50 appearances (Kincaid missed one game) and they had 30 starts including all 17 games for Torrence.

For such a small class, Kincaid, Torrence and Williams played a total of 2,073 snaps which was more than 13 other teams’ rookie classes in 2023.

“I thought the draft contributions we had, in particular Dalton and (Torrence) - to see those two young players have that level of contributions for our team, Cybo all season long, Dalton a little bit more back half say (was great),” coach Sean McDermott said.

Here is a look at what the Bills’ truncated rookie class provided.

TE Dalton Kincaid, first round, pick No. 25

I’ll admit that when Beane took him, I raised my eyebrows because tight end sure didn’t feel prudent in a year when the Bills had already extended the contract of Dawson Knox, and certainly needed a linebacker, offensive guard and wide receiver. But then Beane explained that Kincaid was, in essence, going to be a receiver with how the Bills were planning to use him, and it made more sense.

Then Kincaid delivered pretty much exactly what the Bills were hoping for. He set a franchise record for catches by a tight end and by a rookie with 73 which was also the fourth-most all-time by an NFL rookie tight end. Those receptions totaled 673 yards and resulted in two TDs.

The original plan by Ken Dorsey was to use a heavy dose of two-tight end formations with Kincaid in the slot and Knox attached to the line, but that really didn’t work that well early. When Knox got hurt and missed five games, Kincaid became the go-to tight end working either in the slot or attached, and that continued when Knox returned as the Bills stuck primarily to three-wide formations.

“I think those guys did a great job,” Beane said of Kincaid and Knox. “I give a lot of credit to Dawson. It’s probably not easy when you’ve had your playing time here and all the plays he’s made for us, to draft a guy in the first round. You know, we’re all human. Your first thing is probably, ‘What does this mean for me?’

“I think they will continue to help each other. Dalton tries to play physical, he’s not as developed physically and lacks the play strength that Dawson plays with. But I would see both those guys helping us going forward. And again, giving Joe (Brady) various options, depending on who you’re playing.”

One thing Brady needs to do is find ways to get Kincaid open downfield because there was a definite lack of targets in the intermediate (10-19 yards) and deep areas of the field (20-plus).

LG O’Cyrus Torrence, second round, pick No. 59

Choosing a guard in the first round is generally considered a reach in NFL draft circles unless there’s a can’t miss prospect there. Last year there were no guards taken in the first round, but then three went in the second round before the Bills made Torrence the fourth guard picked.

As it turned out, all four - Torrence, Matthew Bergeron of the Falcons, Steve Avila of the Rams and Cody Mauch of the Buccaneers - became day one starters and started all 17 games for their teams with Torrence and Avila being selected to the NFL’s All-Rookie team. Kincaid did not make the rookie team as he was outpolled by Sam LaPorta of the Lions.

Torrence was a major find for the Bills. They have struggled for years at both guard spots, and the additions of Torrence on the right and free agent Connor McGovern on the left helped produce the best offensive line the Bills have had since Josh Allen joined the team in 2018.

“O’Cyrus Torrence played, I think, every single snap this year (he did), which for a rookie to do that after … the rookie wall is a real thing,” Allen said. “So for him to come out there and do that, it speaks volumes. He’s going to be a heck of a player in this league for a very long time. It’s exciting to have him on our squad.”

Torrence struggled more with pass blocking than he did run blocking. Among 28 guards who played at least 600 pass block snaps, Pro Football Focus graded Torrence 26th (McGovern was sixth). Torrence allowed the fifth-most pressures of that group (40) but only three sacks and he committed only five accepted penalties (four holds and one false start) on 1,164 snaps. Among the 28 guards with at least 400 run block snaps, Torrence graded out 19th.

LB Dorian Williams, third round, pick No. 91

Williams flashed speed and athleticism when he had the chance to play on defense, but his mental game lagged behind. Things were a bit different in the NFL than they were at Tulane. The good news for the Bills is that the mistakes he made were usually at full speed, meaning they were more from playing too fast and aggressive as opposed to not knowing his assignments.

When Matt Milano went down early in the Week 5 game in London, Williams was the man who replaced him, but pretty soon, Tyrel Dodson entered that game. Williams then started against the Giants and played a season-high 65 snaps with 10 tackles, but his other start against the Patriots in Week 7 didn’t go well. He played only 21 snaps before Dodson took over, and Dodson retained the starting role the rest of the year.

Beane said the Bills might have made a mistake by not giving Williams all his reps at outside linebacker in OTAs and training camp, rather than having him compete for the middle spot against Dodson and Terrel Bernard.

“Dorian is a fast, explosive player,” Beane said. “Maybe we did him a disservice, maybe we didn’t, but we did give him a lot of reps at middle linebacker this offseason when he got here, just trying to give everybody opportunities to see what our best fits were there.”

Now, Bernard is the unquestioned starter in the middle so Williams figures to settle in as Milano’s backup in 2024. “I think when he comes back next year … he’s going to be a lot more knowledgeable, a lot more comfortable. The game is going to slow down for him,” Beane said.

WR Justin Shorter, fifth round, pick No. 150

Shorter never really figured into the 2023 plan. All along it felt like he would make the team but then be an inactive player each week. When he suffered a hamstring injury in the preseason finale at Chicago, that made things easier for the Bills as they placed him on injured reserve.

He eventually had his practice window opened in mid-December, but he was never going to play. The Bills did that in order to give him some meaningful practice reps that he can build on heading into next year when he’ll have a chance to compete for a roster spot.

OG Nick Broeker, seventh round, pick No. 230

Broeker stayed with the Bills through training camp and then was waived in the final cutdown to 53 players on Aug. 29. Broeker was then signed by the Texans the next day and spent most of the year on their practice squad. He eventually was activated for three games in December and played a total of 16 snaps.

CB Alex Austin, seventh round, pick No. 250

Austin was cut the same day as Broeker and was also claimed by the Texans. He spent some time on their practice squad, played briefly in three games, then was waived on Nov. 1 and signed with the Patriots.

With New England, Austin appeared in five games and he started against the Chiefs on Dec. 17. He played 216 snaps on defense and in Week 17 against the Bills, he intercepted Allen in the second quarter on a pass that was intended for Kincaid.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out each Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills rookie class: Buffalo hit on Dalton Kincaid, O’Cyrus Torrence