Mike Gesicki bagels versus Texans

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.

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.

This is close to Gesicki’s standard statline when the Bengals’ offense is at full strength, which it is at the current moment. They have a rough Week 18 matchup in the Browns, meaning Gesicki probably won’t be much of a DFS play even with the usual final Sunday chicanery primed to be more insane than ever this season.

This was only the fourth time all season Gesicki caught at least three passes, though the score was his second in three weeks. Good for him, but there’s still no reason to rank Gesicki in the top 20 for Week 17 against the Cardinals. Even in that plus matchup, you need to do better for the fantasy finals.

Taylor told reporters that Higgins — who was checked multiple times after a couple major hits on Sunday — reported symptoms after the game. Given the quick turnaround from his last concussion, it would be surprising if Higgins managed to play this week. It looks like Andrei Iosivas and Mitchell Tinsley, as well as Mike Gesicki, will be solidly on the 12-team radar for Week 15.