The Bengals have utilized a tight end room with distinctly different skill sets in recent years, where Gesicki and Hudson were on the field
for 80 percent of pass plays and Sample and Grandy were more indicative of run plays. They’ve looked for more All-types that are true dual threats. The irony is they found it in the seventh round on what was projected as a pass-first type. “You have to have a willingness to block, that’s A1, whether that’s an F-role or Y-role, he’s shown he’s more than willing to get in the mix,” starter Drew Sample said of Endries. “For a rookie, he did a pretty good job of having a solid base of technique and understanding angles and footwork. That’s half the battle.” The Bengals moved Endries around in the fullback spot, in-line and across the formation, setting him up to offer more than Grandy, who excelled as a run blocker but never took as a receiver. They have more faith that he will do that. After all, that’s why they drafted him.
Charlie Goldsmith·
The other big storyline from Monday’s 31-17 win over the Commanders was receiver Mitch Tinsley. He had so much momentum entering the game that Taylor made him a game captain. Then, he caught five passes for 73 yards, including two highlight touchdown catches. The Bengals have a very difficult receiver room to crack, especially with the strong camp that Charlie Jones has had and because the Bengals have continued to express confidence in Jermaine Burton. I see two roster spots available for Tinsley, Tanner Hudson and Cam Grandy. It’s a fun philosophical conversation about what the Bengals want to be. Tinsley’s highlight tape from Monday backs up the type of athletic plays he has made all summer, but he has a lot of competition for those routes. Burrow clearly has faith in him, and Tinsley was one of the main guys in during the “developmental series” that Burrow had with the backups on Monday. In a best case scenario, Tinsley serves as injury insurance on the 53-man roster and would be ready to step up if there are two injuries.
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