Erick All not targeted in win over Bucs

The rollercoaster ride that is “tertiary target in a Tee Higgins/Ja’Marr Chase-centric offense.” Erick All (2/5 on three targets) lead Bengals tight ends in receptions. Drew Sample (36 of 60) led Bengals tight ends in snaps. Starting Gesicki will pay off at times, but this wasn’t one of them. He’s a TE2 in Week 3 against the Steelers.

Late in June, the Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. identified All as a key cog in the Bengals’ intended schematic switches this season. The team hopes to run more plays from under center while also increasing its play-action rate. It remains to be seen how much receiving involvement All will garner, but the team is very clearly excited about his blocking ability, both in-line and as a fullback. A pair of knee surgeries limited All’s availability through his two NFL seasons. If he can truly return to form, who’s to say he can’t be the Bengals’ long-term TE1? All recently told Dehner that getting hit by a three-wheeled truck in Greece this summer restored his confidence in his ability to take a hit. A modern-day odyssey.

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.

All missed the end of the 2024 season and the entire 2025 season with a pair of knee surgeries, one to clear out damage done from a surgery at Iowa, and another to repair a torn ACL. He enters the third year of his rookie contract as a deep, deep sleeper in fantasy leagues behind Mike Gesicki, but All did look pretty good in 2024 while healthy. He should at least give the Bengals some usable multi-TE set snaps if necessary.

This was the expected outcome after All suffered from complications arising from a previous surgery in college. That left the second-year tight end looking at two offseason surgeries instead of one after suffering a torn ACL in Week 9 of his rookie year. Expect Mike Gesicki to serve as the primary pass-catching tight end for the Bengals in the coming season, a role that is likely to yield a handful of spike weeks considering the general lack of options behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Due to “complications” from a previous knee surgery in college, Dehner Jr. writes, the rookie tight end will now undergo two knee surgeries instead of just one. All being sidelined for the 2025 year will undoubtedly put more emphasis on the Bengals to re-sign Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson. Hopefully All will be able to return for the 2026 season after a decent 20/158/0 receiving line for the Bengals in two months before tearing his ACL.

All will miss the rest of the season after tearing the same ACL he tore in 2023. He played 45 percent of the Bengals snaps in 2024 and will be a key part of the offense assuming he recovers to play in 2025 in the second year of his rookie contract. All finishes with 20 catches on 22 targets for 158 yards in 2024.

Schultz notes this “is the same knee [All] tore his ACL on in October ’23.” It’s an extremely unfortunate end to a promising rookie season. All now faces a long road to recovery in an offseason that should have been spent honing his craft. He finishes the year with 20 receptions and 158 yards on 21 targets, averaging 1.48 yards per route run. The Bengals may now feel compelled to re-sign veteran TE Mike Gesicki, who is scheduled to hit free agency after this season.

All went down with a non-contact injury in the second quarter, limping to the locker room. The rookie had caught 2-of-2 targets for 24 yards before his exit. The Bengals listed him as doubtful to return with a right knee injury, the same one he injured to end his final college season last year. All’s role will be filled by a combination of Tanner Hudson and Drew Sample.

All was targeted twice in the Bengals’ loss, highlighted by a 28-yard catch in the first half. Mike Gesicki was the lead tight end, though with him running more wide receiver routes, All saw a small increase in opportunity. The rookie is still not fantasy relevant, but is quietly averaging a pair of receptions per game this season.