ESPN’s tight end rankings make it crystal clear how important both Erick All Jr. and Jack Endries are for the Bengals’ future
The Cincinnati Bengals did not have a single tight end mentioned in ESPN’s annual survey of over 70 NFL executives, coaches, and scouts ranking the best at the position. It reinforces just how important Erick All Jr. and seventh-round pick Jack Endries are to the Bengals going forward.
The Cincinnati Bengals did not have a single tight end mentioned in ESPN’s annual survey of over 70 NFL executives, coaches, and scouts ranking the best at the position.
The survey named a top 10, five honorable mentions, and eight additional vote-getters for a total of 23 tight ends recognized across the league.
For an offense viewed as one of the most efficient in the NFL, this is quite the indictment of Cincinnati’s tight end room.
It also reinforces just how important Erick All Jr. and seventh-round pick Jack Endries are to the Bengals going forward.
Erick All Jr. has the best chance to rise
All has the clearest path to becoming Cincinnati’s tight end of the future as he’s already considered a quasi-starter when healthy.
As a rookie in 2024, he posted five consecutive games with two or more receptions and had multiple catches in seven of the nine games he played. He was growing as a receiver while already proving himself as a very capable blocker, both as a wide tight end on the line of scrimmage, and as a lead blocker out of the backfield.
That versatility and two-way ability in the run and pass game make him very valuable in the Bengals’ offense, and give him best opportunity to become the player worth building around at the position.
All’s ability is already known, albeit with a small sample size. The most important factor for him is staying healthy. He missed all of 2025 after re-tearing his ACL during the middle of his rookie season. It required him to completely heal and rebuild his knee, and he is said to feel as good as he’s felt since before his initial tear at Iowa.
Jack Endries faces a steeper climb, but the talent is there
It will be significantly tougher for Endries to assert himself in this tight end room as a seventh-round pick from this year’s draft class. However, many draft experts and analysts pegged him as a mid-round prospect worth being selected far earlier than when he went off the board.
“It’s unbelievable,” Endries said after he was picked by Cincy. “And I’m going to make sure I make every team who didn’t draft me pay, to be honest with you.”
Endries was a productive receiver in multiple college offenses, quarterbacked by both Fernando Mendoza at Cal, and Arch Manning at Texas. He has also grown gradually as a blocker, which will help him stay on the field when those opportunities arise.
If injuries hit the position group, he might be the best backup for All because he possesses that balanced skill set between being a reliable downfield threat and someone who can hold his own in the run game.
The Bengals need All or Endries to take the torch and run with it
Cincinnati’s TE group is currently spearheaded by Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample. The two are polar opposites of one another. Gesicki functions more as a big slot receiver than a traditional inline tight end. Sample remains highly valued for his inline blocking ability, but he provides almost no value as a receiver.
The Bengals have accepted this dynamic for the last handful of years, and these rankings only highlight how much more room the unit has to grow compared to the rest of the NFL.
Gesicki is turning 31 this fall. Sample turned 30 back in the spring. Both are on the back end of their tenures, and the Bengals need someone behind them to emerge.
If Cincinnati can get one of All or Endries players to hit somewhere close to their ceiling, the Bengals will have the best young tight end on their roster in quite some time. The last comparable homegrown tight end might be C.J. Uzomah, a former fifth-round pick who spent seven years with the franchise and had a respectable NFL career.
The Bengals have not always valued the tight end position highly when it comes to draft investment. All and Endries themselves are Day 3 picks, but both possess skill sets that can give Cincinnati a tight end worthy of league-wide acclaim.
TE will be a very pressing need in 2027 if neither show enough this season.