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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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For the better part of the last decade, the Cincinnati Bengals offense has run through Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. But as high-powered as that trio has been, the passing attack has cycled through a new tight end group each year, and Burrow has yet to play with a truly elite difference-maker at the position. That could change this season, though.
Erick All Jr. was taken in the fourth round (No. 115 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Iowa, a tight end factory at the college level, but his rookie season in Cincinnati didn't live up to the hype. He finished with just 158 yards on 20 catches over nine games before tearing his ACL — the second of his young career.
Worse yet, All needed a second surgery on the same knee, which wiped out his entire 2025 season, allowing veterans Mike Gesicki, Noah Fant, Tanner Hudson, and Drew Sample to share the spotlight. Gesicki finished as the leading tight end with 307 yards and two touchdowns on 28 catches in 13 games, a steep dropoff from his 665-yard season the year prior.
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While Gesicki is back for the 2026 season, Fant is gone, and All has more upside than Hudson or Sample. This will be his first real chance to build on what he flashed as a rookie two years ago.
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Interestingly, Sample actually led all tight ends in snap share last year at just over 53% of snaps, with Fant at 34% and Gesicki at just 29%. Cincinnati didn't bring in any outside competition at the position this offseason, running it back with basically the same room and hoping someone takes a real step forward.
In All's last season at Iowa, he led the team with 299 receiving yards, averaging 14.2 yards per catch, earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors — and that was despite missing the final seven games of the year. He earned the same honor in 2021 at Michigan, finishing with 437 receiving yards, second-most on the team. Bengals fans just haven't gotten to see that version of him yet over a full season.
If All can prove he's finally healthy, there's a legitimate path for him to take over as the top tight end in the depth chart, and the No. 3 option on a Burrow-led offense. Chase and Higgins naturally draw most of the attention, leaving whoever emerges as the next best option to potentially feast underneath.
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