Drew

Sample

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 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.

Fant and TE Tanner Hudson benefited from fellow TE Mike Gesicki’s early-game pectoral injury, though fellow TE Drew Sample mixed in as well, catching 1-of-2 targets for minus-two yards. Hudson had the more productive day, catching 4-of-5 targets for 10 yards and one touchdown. None of the three can be relied upon in re-draft formats against the Steelers, though Fant ran a position-high 23 routes.

Sample completed his sixth season with the Bengals in 2024, and despite being a second-round pick back in 2019, it was more of the same for the former University of Washington tight end. He hasn’t picked up more than 25 receptions since the 2020 season, and while he could be back with the Bengals again in 2025, there are way too many better options to believe Sample will ever be worth rostering.

Sample matched his season catch total with four against the Raiders. He caught a two-yard touchdown while none of his receptions were longer than five yards. The Bengals’ offense saw heavy focus on tight ends, with Tanner Hudson catching 2-of-3 passes for 14 yards and Erick All catching two passes before exiting due to injury. However, Mike Gesicki is the only fantasy-relevant tight end from the Bengals.

The re-signing of Sample won’t excite fantasy managers, as the fifth-year tight end has managed just 80 catches for 621 yards and three touchdowns for his career. Sample is a reliable depth signing for the Bengals, but the team still needs to add a viable pass-catcher at the position via the draft or free agency. Sample was tasked with blocking on 60.7 percent of his snaps last season and will serve primarily as a blocker in 2024.

Smith continues in a modest role for the Bengals, now sharing work with Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox on a team that runs primarily from 11-personnel. Sample also caught a touchdown against the Bills while passing Smith’s yardage with three grabs for 30 yards. The fantasy utility of this tight end group is largely lacking, meaning fantasy managers can safely avoid them on next week’s waiver wire.

Smith picked up the injury last week in practice and is now off to a slow start for this week. However, Wednesday’s practice is just a walkthrough after their Monday night game, so this is more of an estimation than anything. If Smith were to continue to miss time, the Bengals would lean more on Drew Sample.

Sample visited Arizona earlier this week. Once faced with some competition for his services, the Bengals acted quickly to bring him back. Sample only appeared in two games last year because of a season-ending knee injury. He previously served as a blocker for the Cincy offense, though he did manage to real in 40 passes as the team’s primary starter in 2020. Sample will return to Cincinnati as a blocking tight end and a special teams contributor for the upcoming season.

Sample’s 2022 ended just two games into the season after a Week 2 knee injury against the Cowboys left him permanently sidelined. A former second-round pick by the Bengals in 2019, Sample has 58 receptions for 458 yards and one touchdown in his career, with 349 of those yards coming in his second season. Assuming Zach Ertz rebounds from a devastating injury that ended his season, Sample would likely slot in behind Ertz and second-year tight end Trey McBride if he were to sign with the team.