Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow→ his ranking

Burrow's 2023 season was over before it really began. He opened the year battling a calf issue, completing just 57.6% of his passes while gaining only 4.8 yards per attempt over his first four games (728 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions). A two-game stretch offered some hope (513 combined yards and five scores), and he appeared to be rounding back into form over the following three weeks (326/3, 352/2, 367/2 ~ 8.4 yards per attempt) before a wrist injury ended his season in Week 11.

The truncated year came on the heels of back-to-back elite seasons (4,729/36 in 2021 and 4,732/40 touchdowns, making Burrow’s 2023 injury all the more frustrating.

He returned in 2024 and picked up where his best football left off. Burrow set new career highs across the board (5,119 combined yards, 45 touchdowns) and posted seven games with 300 passing yards. Burrow averaged two touchdowns per week over his first eight games, with two standout performances (328/3 and 393/5), both at home.

The Bengals’ offense caught fire over a seven-game stretch (355 passing yards per game, 23 touchdowns, and four interceptions), highlighted by a pair of dominant outings in Week 10 (434/4) and Week 17 (437/4). Burrow finished second in quarterback scoring (436.60 fantasy points) in four-point passing touchdown formats, confirming his place among the elite at the position.

Cincinnati’s offensive line was a mess over its first four games last season, leading to 13 sacks and three poor scoring games (CLE – 17, MIN – 10, and DEN – 3) on the road. Unfortunately, Burrow was lost for 10 games, 30% into Week 2, when he suffered a toe injury that required surgery. Over his final six starts, the Bengals’ star quarterback averaged 276 combined yards and 2.5 scores per game (24.17 fantasy points), making him a top-five quarterback if his success were repeated for a full year.

If Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Burrow could stay healthy for 17-games, Cincinnati has the offensive weapons to lead the NFL in scoring, putting a 5,000-yard passing season within reach with 40+ touchdowns. Unfortunately, that combination of healthy players hasn’t happened over the past six seasons.

Chase Brown→ his ranking

Brown's first two seasons in Cincinnati told a familiar story of a young back working his way into a role, then seizing it once the opportunity arrived.

His rookie year was mostly quiet. The Bengals barely used him over the first 11 games (13 combined yards and three catches), with a hamstring injury adding to his limited involvement. He showed flashes late in the year (a nine-catch, 61-yard game in Week 13 and 105 combined yards with a touchdown in Week 14) before fading over the final three games (18/64 and five catches for 41 yards).

Year two started slowly again. Cincinnati handed the lead back role to Zack Moss through the first three games, leaving Brown with just 123 combined yards and five catches on 19 touches. A Week 4 breakout (15/80/2 with two catches for 12 yards) hinted at what was coming, and from Week 9 through Week 17, he became one of the most productive backs in the league (averaging 23.6 touches per game over eight weeks, totaling 930 combined yards, six touchdowns, and 38 catches at 20.88 FPPG). An ankle injury cost him Week 18 and left the season on a frustrating note.

The bigger picture was encouraging. Brown finished 10th in PPR scoring (256.00) for running backs, cracked 11.00 fantasy points in 12 of his final 13 games, and showed the three-down versatility that gives him a high floor going forward.

Over the first seven games last season, the fantasy market thought they had made an investment mistake by drafting Brown. He averaged 9.77 fantasy points per game in PPR formats on 15.3 touches. His running back ranking improved weekly over his final 10 starts (147/709/5 – 4.8 yards per carry with 47 catches for 343 yards and five touchdowns). Brown averaged 21.22 fantasy points per game over this span, moving him to RB7 for the year. His best success in fantasy points came in the more important weeks of the year (Week 16 – 32.90 and Week 17 – 29.10). The Bengals gave him 19.4 touches per week over this span.

The Bengals don’t have a standout handcuff, which almost ensures another active role and season for Brown in 2026. His high-floor catching the ball (69/437/5) set his floor, but he can’t reach difference-maker status without scoring more touchdowns or making bigger plays. His base outlook is 300+ touches, with 1,500 combined yards, double-digit scoring, and over 60 catches. Health by all key offensive parties in Cinci invites an untapped gear, especially if the Bengals have a favorable schedule late in the season, when championships are won.

Samaje Perine→ his ranking

Over the past 10 seasons. Perine has worked as a rotational back for Washington, Cincinnati, Miami, Denver, and Kansas, while having his best touch opportunity (175/603/1 with 22 catches for 182 yards and one score) in his rookie season in 2017. He has been a serviceable RB2 over the past six seasons (370/1,653/11 with 171 catches for 1,413 yards and six touchdowns on 206 targets), highlighted by gaining 4.5 yards per carry and 8.3 yards per catch.

The Bengals barely used Perine over their first games (22/99 with six catches for 24 yards), followed by a flash game (100 combined yards with one touchdown and one catch on 10 touches). He missed Week 11 and Week 12 with an ankle issue. Cincinnati gave him 10.3 touches per game over their last six games (52/184/2 with 10 catches for 57 yards), despite gaining only 3.5 yards per rush and 5.7 yards per catch.

Tahj Brooks→ his ranking

Brooks put together two productive seasons at Texas Tech (575 carries for 3,047 yards and 27 touchdowns, plus 57 catches for 268 yards and one score) before Cincinnati selected him in the sixth round of the 2025 draft. He's a power-over-quickness runner with league-average speed, but his vision is a genuine asset, and he shows the ability to make defenders miss in tight spaces. His receiving production (102 career catches) looks better on paper than in game action (5.3 yards per catch), suggesting a diet of checkdowns rather than any real threat as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.

In his rookie season, Brooks only touched the ball 17 times, leading to 54 combined yards with no touchdowns. His only issue was a concussion, costing him a Thanksgiving Day matchup.

Ja’Marr Chase→ his ranking

Chase's 2023 season was his most efficient to that point (100 catches for 1,216 yards on 145 targets, his third consecutive 1,000-yard campaign), but the touchdown production (7) dropped for the second straight year. He was electric in bursts, with five standout games (12/141, 15/192/3, 10/100/1, 5/124/1, and 11/149/1) accounting for 53% of his catches and 58% of his yards in just about a third of his appearances. The back half of the season was murkier due to Burrow's injury, which led to five quiet outings (4/81, 3/29, 4/64, 3/41, 4/19) over the final seven weeks, and a shoulder issue cost him Week 16. He finished 11th in PPR wide receiver scoring at 263.80 points.

What followed in 2024 was one of the most dominant individual seasons a receiver has put together in the history of the NFL. Chase set new personal bests across every major category (127 catches, 1,708 yards, and 17 touchdowns on 175 targets) and outscored the next-highest wide receiver (Justin Jefferson) by 85.30 PPR points.

He opened with a strong Week 3 (6/118/2) and Week 5 (10/193/2) before turning virtually unstoppable over his final eight starts, totaling 72 catches for 991 yards and 10 touchdowns on 105 targets. His two signature performances came in Week 10 (11/264/3) and Week 14 (14/191/2), and he posted seven or more catches in nine of his 17 starts. There wasn't a more valuable fantasy asset at the position all season.

Considering the jockeying of quarterbacks for the Bengals last season, with Joe Burrow injured, Chase maintained a top-five wide receiver year (125/1,412/8 – 4th in PPR fantasy points), thanks to a league-high 185 targets. His regression in yards was due to shorter catches (11.3 yards – 13.4 in 2024) and a missed game in Week 12 due to a suspension. Chase scored over 20.00 fantasy points in eight contests (36.50, 29.00, 25.40, 38.10, 21.20, 23.20, 25.00, and 23.60). He lacked starting fantasy value in four other matchups (2/26, 5/59, 5/23, and 3/30).

Tee Higgins→ his ranking

Higgins remains one of the most talented and frustrating players in fantasy football, a genuine difference-maker when healthy, and a chronic injury risk that makes him nearly impossible to fully trust. In 2023 and 2024, he's missed 10 games. Over four of his five NFL seasons, the Bengals have funneled him between 108 and 110 targets, producing a remarkably consistent per-game line of 4.7 catches, 66 yards, and 0.49 touchdowns on 7.3 targets (14.24 FPPG in PPR formats). That production sits between a top-10 and a top-15 receiver when he plays.

The 2023 season captured everything maddening about him. He went without a catch on eight targets in Week 1, rebounded with a strong showing against Baltimore (8/89/2), then alternated between productive and invisible over his next nine games (three clunkers – 2/21, 2/19, 2/20) sandwiched around four missed starts with rib and hamstring issues. When Higgins returned, Burrow was done for the year, yet Higgins played two of his best games with Jake Browning at quarterback (4/61/2 in Week 15 and 5/140/1 in Week 16) before a hamstring injury ended his season in Week 18. He scored fewer than 10.0 fantasy points in seven of his 12 appearances.

In 2024, Higgins followed a similar script. A hamstring issue kept him out of the first two games, and he managed just one elite performance (9/83/2) over the following five weeks (29/341/3 on 45 targets) before a quad injury cost him another three games at midseason.

Then came the stretch that reminded everyone what he's capable of. From Week 11 through Week 17, Higgins caught 40 of 59 targets for 517 yards and seven touchdowns, with a reliable floor across five outings (9/148/1, 5/69/1, 5/88/1, 8/58/1, and 11/131/3). His fantasy postseason run (24/277/5 — 81.70 points over three weeks) was championship-winning material. He closed the regular season nursing knee and ankle issues, ending on a quiet note in Week 18 (4/53 on five targets), one last reminder that with Higgins, the fine print always matters.

Over the first 11 games last season, Higgins dodged the injury bug, resulting in 40 catches for 575 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 targets. Scoring helped his double-digit fantasy floor in six of these contests, with the best value coming in two matchups (6/96/1 and 7/121/2). He still had three empty showings over this span (3/33, 1/15, and 5/31).

Higgins sat out Week 13 and Week 15 with concussion issues. His season ended with four productive games (6/92/2, 3/53/1, 4/59, and 6/67/1). The Bengals gave him six targets or fewer in seven of his 15 starts. Higgins set a career high in touchdowns (11) while maintaining his injury risk tag.

Andrei Iosivas→ his ranking

Iosivas arrived in Cincinnati as a developmental vertical threat with speed (4.43 40-yard dash), frame (6'3" and 205 lbs.), and rising production (18/263/4 in 2019, 41/703/5 in 2021, and 66/943/7 in 2022 at 15.3 YPC) at Princeton that translated more in concept than immediately on the field. The raw tools were obvious; the refinement was the question.

His rookie season was almost entirely a red zone story. Iosivas caught 15 of 25 targets for 116 yards and four touchdowns, with all four scores coming inside the 10-yard line (from three, two, three, and seven yards out). His best game came in a Week 18 cameo (5/36/2), a low-volume, high-efficiency preview of what he could become as a scoring specialist.

In 2024, Iosivas stepped into the WR3 role and delivered a more complete body of work (36 catches for 479 yards and six touchdowns on 61 targets), with seven catches of 20-plus yards showing his big-play capability. His concerns were the drops (6), which dragged his catch rate down to 59.0%, and a low-volume ceiling (Cincinnati gave him five targets or fewer in all but two games).

He cracked 10.00 PPR fantasy points four times (2/7/2, 5/52/1, 3/35/1, 3/53/1), making him a touchdown-or-bust fantasy option more than a reliable weekly contributor. Iosivas’ upside is real, but opportunity hasn’t knocked on his door enough to be trusted.

Progression was expected in year three of his NFL career, but the injury to Joe Burrow led to a step back in his game (33/449/2) despite similar targets (58 – 61 in 2024). His fantasy ticket came only twice last season (Week 5 – 5/82 and Week 9 – 5/66/1), both with Burrow out of the lineup.

Colbie Young→ his ranking

After progressing over two seasons at Miami of Florida (32/367/5 and 47/563/5), Young had minimal opportunities (11/149/2 and 26/358/1) over the following two years after transferring to Georgia, due to missing time with an off-the-field issue in 2024 and a broken leg last season. In his freshman year, Young had two impact games (9/101/1 and 6/126/2) in back-to-back weeks, hinting at a much better player.

His edge in size (6’5” and 220 lbs.) stands out, and Young has above-average speed (4.49 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL Combine) for his stature. He brings catcher’s mitts for hands, along with the wingspan to win high-pointed balls in jump-ball situations. His route running needs work, but Young will threaten defenses with his value after the catch. He must improve his release vs. physical corners, and his ability to get open takes a hit when moving back to the quarterback.

Mike Gesicki→ his ranking

Gesicki's fantasy career has been a winding road: one elite season, a sharp fade, three quiet years in the wilderness, and then a surprise resurgence.

In 2021, he delivered the breakout that justified his upside billing, setting career highs in catches (73), receiving yards (780), and targets (112), finishing ninth in PPR tight end scoring at 165.00 points. The touchdowns (2) were the one disappointment, and his production was front-loaded, with a strong five-week run from Week 3 to Week 7 (34/386/2) giving way to a quieter final 10 games (36/353/0 on 61 targets).

A 2022 coaching change in Miami effectively ended his role there. New staff, concerns about his blocking, and a sharply reduced target share (52, down from 112) led to a steep decline (32 catches for 362 yards and five touchdowns), with just one game over 50 receiving yards (6/69/2). The touchdowns kept him marginally relevant; everything else pointed to a diminished role.

Poor quarterback play and a dysfunctional offense in New England in 2023 left him with 29 catches for 244 yards and two scores, and he failed to crack 10.00 PPR fantasy points in a single game, a worthless fantasy asset by any measure.

His first year in Cincinnati paved his comeback trail. Gesicki caught 65 of 83 targets for 665 yards and two touchdowns, finishing 13th in PPR tight end scoring at 143.40 points. He benefited from Tee Higgins' absences, with three of his five best games coming when Higgins was out (7/91, 7/73, 5/100/2). The Bengals leaned on him late, giving him eight or more targets in five games, including back-to-back strong finishes in Weeks 17 and 18 (10/86 and 8/68). It wasn't a full resurrection, but it was enough to offer starting stats in multiple matchups.

The lost and found was his home in 2025, leading to seven-year lows in catches (28) and targets (42). Gesicki missed four games midseason with a pectoral issue. He flashed in Week 14 (6/86/1), coming on the heels of seven games with fewer than 8.00 fantasy points in PPR formats. His only other outcome of value came in Week 16 (3/35/1).

He's best viewed as a sneaky backup tight end, with potential streamer value when injuries or bye weeks create a need, but not someone to build around, given his inconsistent floor. Gesicki should be found in the free agent pool until he reestablishes himself in Cincinnati’s offense.

Jack Endries

Endres spent three college seasons split between California and Texas, peaking in 2024 with the Golden Bears (56/623/2) before a quieter final year with the Longhorns (33/346/3). He finished with 124 catches for 1,376 yards and seven touchdowns over 39 games, with his two best performances (8/119 and 9/101) coming midseason at Cal in 2024 with Fernando Mendoza at quarterback.

His profile is one of a player with genuine upside in several areas, but Endries still needs to add strength and physicality to become a complete tight end. His route running lacks a true edge, but he has sneaky speed on longer developing routes that can catch defenders off guard. He plays with a basketball post mentality in contested catch situations, using his body to create space against man coverage, and his hands hold up well under pressure.

As a blocker, Endries finds his way to the right spot often enough, but needs more power at the point of contact to finish consistently. He's instinctive with the ball in his hands and takes what the defense offers, though getting off the line against physical press coverage remains a problem. Endries ran a 4.62 at the 2026 NFL Combine, not a speed limitation, but not a weapon either. The tools are there for development; the refinement is the work ahead.