Beat: Young competing for ‘passing target No. 3'

Young, the rookie, “has seemingly stacked at least one impressive catch per day.” Iosivas has had “a few notable drops,” but he reportedly “appears as polished and athletic as ever at getting open.” Both players could be worth late-round picks in best ball formats, but neither one is likely to return FLEX value in re-draft without WR1 Ja’Marr Chase or WR2 Tee Higgins missing time. Iosivas is entering a contract year, and the team just spent a fourth-round pick on Young. An in-season breakout from the rookie would make things easier from a salary cap perspective. Dehner also notes that former CFL WR Dohnte Meyers “has been a talk of camp” thus far.

Late in June, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. reported that QB Joe Burrow had agreed to try out more under-center concepts in spring practices. The Bengals’ quarterback prefers to operate from shotgun, but the offense has struggled to generate explosive pass and run plays in recent seasons. Meanwhile, 2025 playoff teams notably thrived under center, prompting a potential schematic switch in Cincinnati this year. Dehner previously reported on Brown’s efficiency leaps when switching from shotgun to under center. Burrow and his wide receiver should, theoretically, receive an efficiency bump from the intended changes as well. This is exciting for fantasy football purposes.

Brown, according to Dehner, is “being used all over the formation,” similar to the way Ja’Marr Chase has been deployed in recent years. Brown lines up in the slot and runs a slant one play, then takes a jet sweep the next. He’s part of 20 personnel with two running backs, motions into the backfield, behind a fullback and almost any other spot imaginable.” The Bengals are preparing to use motion at a much higher rate than they have during the Joe Burrow era, especially when Burrow is under center. It’s led to some early camp struggles, per Dehner. “We all got to prepare a little bit more, at least I do, a lot for the motions and playing F and wherever they are putting me takes a little extra study time because I haven’t really done that before,” Brown said. “It’s cool they trust me doing that and believe in my skill set enough. It’s been fun.” Dehner said the team’s “pre-snap eye candy and under-center emphasis have helped establish a refreshed run game” ahead of the 2026 season. Brown’s pass game involvement should give him every chance to be a top-5 back in PPR formats.

Brown was reported to be discussing an extension with the Bengals in January, but nothing came of that. Dehner believes the $14.3 million franchise tag number for running backs “speaks the Bengals’ language as they continue to work on a potential longer deal for him.” Brown, entering his age-26 season, remains a fringe fantasy RB1 in Cincinnati’s wide-open offense. It doesn’t seem like there’s any danger of a holdout or anything of the sort here.

Dehner reports that the Bengals have rigorously practiced lining up under center in spring practices. He believes they will remain a shotgun-first team, but thinks they could improve on their 31st under-center ranking by more than 10 spots. Among the top-40 qualifiers from 2024-25, Brown averages 5.1 yards per carry (fourth) and a 12.3 percent explosive run play rate (third) on runs when QB Joe Burrow lines up under center. From shotgun formation, Brown averages 4.5 (24th) and 7.3 percent (22nd), respectively. Even a minimal increase in under-center snaps would benefit Brown. The Bengals believe TE Erick All’s (knee) return gives them the needed flexibility to do so. He is capable of motioning into the backfield as a fullback, and “setting the edge with vicious crack blocks and overall serving as a hammer in front of Brown in the run game.” Brown finished as the RB7 last year and is being drafted as the consensus RB10 in best ball. Beating that ADP seems plausible.

Young is a towering X-receiver (6’5/218) who The Athletic’s Dane Brugler compared “stylistically” to Broncos WR Courtland Sutton. Young, 23, spent one season at Lackawanna College before transferring to Miami in 2022 and Georgia in 2024. He was suspended for nine games and served 12 months of probation following a 2024 and missed six games in 2025 after undergoing surgery in-season for a fractured left fibula and torn ligament. Young averaged 14.7 yards per reception in his final college season. He will likely begin as an NFL backup entering a Bengals wide receiver room led by Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

This isn’t a front-page headline or anything, but OC Dan Pitcher did say that Iosivas “would probably tell you that there were points last year that he was happy with his play and points where he felt he needed to be better.” Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Iosivas could be pushed by Mitchell Tinsley or a draft pick for playing time.

Brown had an uneven fantasy season as he was disastrous pre-Joe Flacco and the Bengals simply couldn’t get the ground game going, but came on strong in the second half of the season and wound up with a 69/437/5 receiving line. Entering his age-26 season and the final year of his rookie contract, an extension would seem to make sense given the Bengals don’t exactly have anyone waiting in the wings. 2025 sixth-rounder Tahj Brooks is the closest thing Cincinnati has to a prospect at the position, and he only managed 47 offensive snaps in his rookie season.

Hot off a rebound 2024 season, Gesicki inked a three-year, $25.5 million contract to stay in Cincinnati in the offseason. It became apparent early in the year that Gesicki would not be giving Bengals fans an encore in 2025. He was held under 20 receiving yards in each of his first six games before a pec injury sent him to injured reserve. Gesicki started to turn things around after coming off IR, totaling 35 yards on four grabs in Week 12. At the time, it was his best game of the year. He eventually popped for a few other meaningful games, though he ultimately topped 50 yards just once on the year. He posted a 28/307/2 receiving line in total. The Bengals could save $3.3 million in cap space with a $4.3 million dead cap hit if they move on from him after the year. Either way, we don’t expect him to be on the fantasy radar in 2026.

Iosivas proved to be a capable depth option in 2024, but there wasn’t much room for his role to grow this year. He appeared in all 17 games and totaled 34 grabs for 435 yards. His 2025 stat line was nearly identical to 2024’s, except for a notable drop in touchdowns. He scored six times last year compared to two touchdowns this time around. For fantasy purposes, Iosivas only cracks the weekly FLEX ranks when one of Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins is sidelined. He won’t be on the redraft radar for his fourth NFL season.