Mike Gesicki bagels versus Texans

Hudson saw three targets on the day, catching a Joe Burrow touchdown pass towards the end of the first half. The Bengals used all of their tight ends against Miami; Hudson saw 19 snaps while Mike Gesicki saw 28 and Erick All and Drew Sample tied with 33 snaps. It was a run-heavy day for Cincy, but the four tight ends all combined for nine targets. All caught all three of his targets for 25 yards while Sample caught his only target for five yards.

The Bengals utilized all of their tight ends against the Dolphins, with Gesicki catching just one pass on the day. His sole reception was a touchdown on the Bengals’ opening drive, totaling four on the season and salvaging some fantasy value for those who streamed him at tight end this week. Gesicki’s value is lowered when Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are active; his red zone utilization makes Gesicki a low-end fantasy TE2 heading into the Bengals’ Week 6 bye.

Gesicki caught a third quarter touchdown against the Jaguars, his third score of the year. He saw just five targets on a day where Joe Burrow threw 54 passes and Ja’Marr Chase (concussion) exited early. However, Gesicki has a clear red zone role and he led all Bengals tight ends in snaps on the day. If Chase and Tee Higgins (adductor) miss any time, Gesicki is a tight end streaming option for Week 5.

After going without a target last week, Gesicki made the most of his three targets in this one. His most notable reception came in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-two when he broke free across the middle of the field for a wide-open 25-yard touchdown to put the Bengals up 27-24. Gesicki has now scored in two of his first three games this season, but is averaging just 3.3 targets per game. Fantasy managers should be rushing to add him to their lineups for next week’s game against the Jaguars.

Three Bengals tight ends caught at least one pass, but All somehow was not one of them. That will probably change going forward, but this is confirmation that it’s going to be a while if All is to develop back-end streamer relevance this season.

Gesicki led the Bengals in catches, targets and yards and was the only pass catcher to score on an afternoon where the Bucs’ defense was funneling Joe Burrow to the middle of the field. Gesicki’s score was a two-yarder where he rolled in to the end zone in the first quarter. Gesicki’s yardage total would have been his second highest of 2025. He’s a valuable real-life contributor, but he is going to have trouble cracking the top 18 tight ends on a regular basis with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown all usage monsters for the Bengals.

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.

Baby’s practice notes indicate that incumbent No. 3 WR Andrei Iosivas and No. 1 TE Mike Gesicki are the other two competitors for the role, and both players “had productive springs.” Pitcher also said RB Chase Brown “can sometimes be viewed as a slot receiver,” but those types of comments are common in the summer and rarely pan out in the fall. Iosivas and Gesicki have been helpful contributors, but the fact that the team is searching for an answer at the No. 3 receiving role is indicative of their ceilings. Pitcher believes Young is “going to fight and battle” this summer, and thinks there are things Young “can do quickly and help us.” If he can actually become the team’s third-most voluminous target earner, he could pay off as a late-round best ball pick.

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.