As the tight end pool deepens, fantasy football managers constantly battle the cost/benefit conundrum. Do you pay up for greatness, or trust your fantasy football management skills to jerry rig the spot on your roster at a fraction of the cost?
If Brock Bowers or Trey McBride are must-draft players for you, do me a favor and explore our other content. We have plenty that can help you elevate your game, but this isn’t for you. Managers in standard leagues are generally burning a roster spot if they roster a backup to a one-player position, and that’s even more the case if you have access to one of the elites.
Let’s look at Mike Gesicki’s profile for the rest of you and see if he’s worth your while.
Mike Gesicki’s Fantasy Outlook
We all waited with bated breath for the Cincinnati Bengals’ contractual decisions this spring. Was Tee Higgins coming back? What about Trey Hendrickson?
And then, boom, Gesicki inks a three-year deal worth $25 million.
The Bengals are well aware that their success will be a product of their offense more than anything, so, unsurprisingly, they value a receiver in tight end clothing.
Routes Per Offensive Snap
- 2018 (MIA): 56.1%
- 2019 (MIA): 79.1%
- 2020 (MIA): 74.3%
- 2021 (MIA): 68.5%
- 2022 (MIA): 78.5%
- 2023 (NE): 66%
- 2024 (CIN): 83.3%
Geiscki turns 30 in October and will now have the benefit of stability after spending three years with three different teams. His fluidity as an athlete is appealing given how the tight end position has evolved, but the ways he threatens opposing defenses are more valuable to Cincinnati than fantasy managers.
Mike Gesicki (88) with the one-handed grab from Joe Burrow in pre-11 drills. pic.twitter.com/xF5sc8eLnO
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 30, 2024
In real life, the gravity of a player like Gesicki operating underneath the Ja’Marr Chase/Higgins tandem is impactful. It moves the chains and occasionally results in YAC opportunities for that dynamic duo because a linebacker was leaning the wrong way toward the tight end.
I don’t play in any point-per-gravity leagues.
Gesicki has failed to clear two touchdown catches in consecutive seasons and three of his past four (and before you ask, he’s missed exactly zero games over that stretch). Last season, both of his scores came in a single contest, one that was likely burned with him either on your waiver wire or your bench.
That game was part of a two-game stretch that saw Gesicki catch 12 passes for 173 yards and those two touchdowns. In his other 15 games? He caught just 53 passes for 492 yards – in a PPR setting, that’s 6.8 PPG (Dalton Schultz was TE27 last season at 7.0 PPG).
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If you need to stream the position, that’s fine. That could be the case at some point, as bye weeks and injuries can put you in a difficult position, and gaining access to this offense isn’t the worst gamble. Gesicki is coming off the best YAC season since his rookie campaign, benefiting from a sub-8-yard aDOT for the first time in his career.
He showed last season that he can have a good game because of his situation and skill set. Don’t lose track of him when we get into the middle of the season, but there’s no need to exit your draft with a player like this rostered, even in a TE-premium setting. The addition of Noah Fant isn’t what worries me, but it doesn’t help a profile that is already difficult to rely on due to a lack of consistent volume.
Mason LeBeau‘s Mike Gesicki Fantasy Projection
Mike Gesicki is pretty much free right now. Does anyone know why? I don’t mean “late-round flier” free, either. Gesicki can comfortably be your last pick in most drafts, or even a waiver addition. That’s a cost that’s easy to stomach, any potential risk he’d otherwise have.
Gesicki will be tied to one of the best offenses in football. He may be competing for the third option with young receiver Jermaine Burton, but the Bengals went out of their way to sign him to a pretty solid three-year, $25M deal. Considering their whole Trey Hendrickson situation, and the money already allocated to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, that’s pretty considerable money.
In 2024, he was 11th in tight end targets with 83, tied with Sam LaPorta. The problem was that he only turned that into two touchdowns, and he’s never been a massive redzone threat with a career high of six. However, he’s gone for over 700 yards twice already, and caught over 80 targets four times. Having the workload and being tied to an excellent offense that’s expected to carry a bad defense, there isn’t much more you can ask of a player who’s free in drafts.
It feels rich to call him a potential league winner — that would require a career year and then some. However, I won’t be surprised if he ends up as one of the better values by the end of the year. Consider Gesicki if you passed on the position early and need a late-round flier, but at the very least, keep a close eye on him early in the season for waivers.