The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Mike Gesicki.
Is Mike Gesicki Playing in Week 10?
Gesicki is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bengals’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Mike Gesicki in Week 10?
A big day for Mike Gesicki in Week 9 against the Raiders almost got started even earlier — this high-end athlete made a sprawling catch near the pylon but was ruled (correctly) out of bounds. He ultimately found pay dirt in the third quarter as Joe Burrow was scrambling and found his tight end in the back of the end zone.
An all-out blitz resulted in a 47-yard fourth-quarter score to cap an already strong performance. If you started Gesicki, you made up serious ground at the position and might be thinking that you have a TE1 the rest of the way on your hands. Is that right?
Now, for the elephant in the room: the Tee Higgins thing. Here are two charts; the overall value of the targets looks about the same, right? Both showcase short, highly efficient targets.
The difference is volume. The chart on the left is with Higgins on the field (85 routes run for Gesicki) and the right is without Higgins (91 routes run). His role in this offense is the same regardless of who is active — he’s on this planet to run routes, not block — but Joe Burrow gives him all the work he can handle when he is elevated to essentially the second option.
Higgins’ status is a moving target, though, with no time spent on the practice field since suffering this injury two weeks ago, he should be considered unlikely to play until proven otherwise. If we are operating under that assumption, Gesicki is a low-end TE1 with a reasonable floor thanks to the projectable usage, especially with Erick All Jr. ruled out for the season following a torn ACL.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Mike Gesicki’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 10
As of Thursday, Gesicki is projected to score 9.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4.1 receptions for 42.5 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Ravens’ Defense
The Baltimore Ravens’ defense has briefly flashed upside this year, but there has been no rhyme or reason as to why they have come outside of outlier results. Week 9 was just the second time that the Ravens have been inside the top 15 in a single week this season (Week 3 vs. Buffalo). Outside of that, it has not made for pretty reading.
The Ravens’ main success defensively has been against the run, but they have struggled against the pass. A large part of that has been an inability to generate consistent pressure without committing extra men to the pass rush. Additionally, the Ravens have also ranked 30th in third-down conversion rate this year, but their ability to stiffen in the red zone (15th) has meant it has not shown up as much as it could have.
Do you want more insight on all other defensive units across the NFL? Head over to our PFN Defense+ Rankings for analysis on all 32 teams.
Mike Gesicki’s Week 10 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 PM ET on Friday, December 13. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 15 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (vs. ATL)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (vs. NE)
3) George Kittle | SF (vs. LAR)
4) Travis Kelce | KC (at CLE)
5) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at HOU)
6) David Njoku | CLE (vs. KC)
7) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. CHI)
8) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. BUF)
9) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (at PHI)
10) Tucker Kraft | GB (at SEA)
11) Mark Andrews | BAL (at NYG)
12) Zach Ertz | WAS (at NO)
13) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. MIA)
14) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at CAR)
15) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. WAS)
16) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at DET)
17) Cade Otton | TB (at LAC)
18) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at LV)
19) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. NYJ)
20) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. PIT)
21) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (vs. CIN)
22) Cole Kmet | CHI (at MIN)
23) Noah Gray | KC (at CLE)
24) Mike Gesicki | CIN (at TEN)
25) Noah Fant | SEA (vs. GB)
26) Isaiah Likely | BAL (at NYG)
27) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (at JAX)
28) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (vs. DAL)
29) Hunter Henry | NE (at ARI)
30) Darnell Washington | PIT (at PHI)
31) Austin Hooper | NE (at ARI)
32) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs. KC)