Mike Gesicki will almost surely go down as one of the most underwhelming tight end draft picks of all time. Coming out of Penn State, he was known as this super weapon at the tight end position that played more like a receiver and could battle over the middle of the field for anything. Really, the best we've got is a couple of 700-yard seasons and a lot of what-ifs. Gesicki's highest finishes were tight end seven back in 2020 and tight end 11 back in 2021. But then his last season in Miami, he wasn't utilized. Last season with the New England Patriots, he wasn't utilized.
So will he be utilized in 2024 with the Cincinnati Bengals? The hope is that the answer is yes because Tyler Boyd is gone in free agency, and that's a big opening in the slot position that maybe Mike Gesicki could help fill a little bit along with some of the other candidates already on the roster. Tee Higgins is a guy that's still looking for a long-term contract. It's likely not to come from Cincinnati, so if he tweaks his hamstring, what are the chances that he says, "Well, I'm going to miss the next few weeks because I'm not going to miss out on that huge payday next year by playing through an injury."
Now, there's some what-ifs with Mike Gesicki. Last season, Tanner Hudson stepped in every once in a while and was looked at by Joe Burrow here and there, but nothing that was very consistent. We haven't seen the tight end position utilized consistently in Cincinnati since, I mean, who knows when at this point. I do think Mike Gesicki is an under-the-radar sleeper this year for the Cincinnati Bengals at the tight end position.
Me personally, when I look at Mike Gesicki, I see him as a late-round best ball stab. When I draft my best ball teams, I like to draft three tight ends late, all of them that have touchdown upside. Hopefully, each one of them just has a good week any given week, and then they can just rotate in and out of my lineup. From a redraft standpoint, though, he's probably not going to be drafted. I would keep an eye on him on your waiver wire, though. Flag him so you can come back to him a little bit later in the season if, for some reason, he is worked into the game plan to start right away in week one.
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