TannerHudson

Oct 12

Earlier in the week, it seemed like Cincinnati would be without its top four wide receivers.

Ja'Marr Chase didn't practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday, then upgraded to full Friday with a concussion. Tee Higgins didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, then upgraded to full Friday with groin and neck injuries. They were both ruled questionable but were ultimately active. Third receiver Andrei Iosivas remains on injured reserve, while fourth receiver Colbie Young missed back-to-back games due to a knee injury. Chase’s playing time was normal in this one, while Higgins was rotated out a little more frequently than usual but only in 12 personnel, as he played 100% of 11 personnel snaps. It was Mitch Tinsley typically taking Higgins' spot. In 11 personnel, Dohnte Meyers played 100% of snaps as the third receiver. This generally led to targets being more spread out than usual, including touchdowns by Tanner Hudson and Mike Gesicki. Erick All Jr. finished second on the team in receiving yards at 25. Going forward, fantasy managers ideally don’t need to worry about the playing time of Chase and Higgins.

Sep 2

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.