How Athletic Tight End Mike Gesicki Fits the Cincinnati Bengals Offense – Grading the Move and Next Steps

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals are taking the next step in filling out their tight end room by agreeing to terms with Mike Gesicki on a one-year, $3.5 million contract, per multiple reports.

The Bengals went into Monday’s start of free agency with no tight ends under contract for 2024, but they since have re-signed Drew Sample to a three-year, $10.5 deal and added Gesicki.

Cincinnati Bengals Sign Athletic TE Mike Gesicki

However, the 2018 second-round pick has been more of a receiver in the way he’s been used during his six NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, due primarily to his freakish athletic skills.

Mike Gesicki was drafted with pick 42 of round 2 in the 2018 draft class. He scored a 9.97 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 3 out of 783 TE from 1987 to 2018. https://t.co/LrFx6Y31bu #RAS pic.twitter.com/9oDzUPM8A8

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 1, 2023

In 538 offensive snaps for New England in 2023, Gesicki lined up in the slot 322 times and was out wide on 106. Only 94 times was the 2018 second-round pick inline.

In his final season with the Dolphins in 2022, Gesicki was used a little more traditionally for a tight end with 164 of 478 snaps inline.

But the slot still was his most frequent position with 216 snaps, while he was out wide 93 times.

With Cincinnati slot receiver Tyler Boyd expected to leave in free agency and 2023 fourth-round pick Charlie Jones coming off a rookie season with little usage, look for the Bengals to employ Gesicki in the slot quite a bit as well.

Zac Taylor’s offense will continue to lean heavily into 11 personnel despite actually having two tight ends on the field.

Gesicki has caught 260 passes for 2,861 yards and 20 touchdowns during his six seasons.

#Patriots TE Mike Gesicki with the go-ahead TD on #NationalTightEndsDay 🔥

pic.twitter.com/drKXXtEA8I

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 22, 2023

Since the Dolphins took him in the second round in 2018, Gesicki ranks 12th among tight ends in receiving yards and 13th in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Newly promoted offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher addressed the tight end position at the Combine in Indianapolis last week.

“I think there’s always room for great players,” he said. “So the idea that we wouldn’t be interested in adding an elite skill set at that position, I don’t agree with that. It is about fitting the pieces together, and there’s only so many targets, right?

“And so when you do have two explosive outside threats, and the (financial) resources that have to go into those guys, that’s where you start to play the game that the (director of player personnel Duke Tobin) always talks about with the pie only being so big.”

Adding a player with Gesicki’s athleticism and production at such an affordable cost (he’s only $2 million more than Irv Smith Jr. was a year ago) is a big win for the Bengals, even if it doesn’t fully answer the thin TE room.

But he certainly fits the offense.

“I think you saw a little bit like, you know, with Tanner (Hudson) in the second half of the year, we know how to funnel the ball to the tight end,” Pitcher said.

“I’m certainly not opposed to a talented player at that position. You need somebody to work the middle of the field, whether that’s your slot receiver, whether that’s your tight end, whether that’s Ja’Marr Chase formationing him into the middle of the field, Tee Higgins for that matter. You’ve got to figure out the best way to do that. And as we see across the league, having a dynamic play-making tight end can really change your offense.”

Listen everyone, like it or not I definitely gotta bring the griddy back now 😂 Thanks dawg!! https://t.co/dIsG1RAcyW

— Mike Gesicki (@mikegesicki) March 12, 2024

Signing tight ends to a one-year prove-it deal is becoming a template for the Bengals after doing it with Hayden Hurst in 2022 and Smith last year, to mixed results.

Signing Gesicki doesn’t rule out the Bengals bringing back Tanner Hudson. The fact that he hasn’t agreed to terms elsewhere yet is a good sign there aren’t crazy offers being thrown his way. The Bengals have interest in bringing him back.

And after watching what Burrow did for C.J. Uzomah and Hurst, Hudson should have interest in seeing what a full season with that quarterback and that offense could do for his value.

But the Bengals employed Hudson in much the same manner as Gesicki has been used, with about half the snaps coming in the slot.

Gesicki is the most accomplished of the group of recent tight ends and could put up some of the best numbers by a Cincinnati tight end in nearly a decade.

Hurst was the first Bengals TE to top 50 catches since Tyler Eifert with 52 in 2015.

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Cincinnati hasn’t had a tight end catch at least six touchdown passes since Tyler Kroft (seven) in 2017, and only six others in team history have accomplished it. Gesicki had six touchdown receptions in 2020 and scored five times in 2019 and 2022.

Grade: B+

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