The Cincinnati Bengals looked to get more athletic at the tight end position in 2024. They brought in free agent Mike Gesicki from the New England Patriots and this was a good place to start. The orange and black weren’t satisfied, so they turned to the NFL Draft and double-dipped at TE with sixth-round selection Tanner McLachlan from Arizona. They also took Cincinnati product and Fairfield High School alum Erick All from Iowa at pick 115 overall. Both players could see playing time this season and All is behind McLachlan due to a series of injuries he’s recovering from. Let’s further examine the former Wolverine and Hawkeye to see what we can expect from him this season in stripes.
Cincinnati Bengals Player Profile: Erick All
College Career
All is an intriguing player who likely fell due to the injury concerns surrounding him. He spent the first, four seasons of his college career in Ann Arbor where he played immediately as a freshman. While at Michigan he was a three-year letterman (2019-20-21) and appeared in 33 games with 12 starts at tight end. All was also an All-Big Ten selection (honorable mention, coaches and media; 2021), shared Offensive Skill Player of the Year honors (2021), and totaled 54 receptions for 565 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2022, All would transfer to Iowa as a graduate student and had two years of eligibility remaining. He continued his solid play for the Hawkeyes in 2023 and was an Honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches and on the John Mackey Award preseason Watch List. All caught 21 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns (14.2 yards per catch and 42.7 yards per game averages) before sustaining a season-ending injury in the seventh game.
Past Life
All is somewhat of a risk based on his recent injury history including a torn ACL last season and what was described as a “life-changing” spine surgery at The BioSpine Institute in Florida. Absent the injuries, there’s no doubt about the talent that All has on the football field. He’s agile and athletic for his size and has shown the ability to run a varied route tree in multiple systems. All is also a willing blocker and will likely be used in the heavy 11-personnel the Bengals frequently run to free up others. Cincinnati will slowly bring the former Hawkeye along, hoping he’s cleared for training camp and ready to contribute in Week 1.
Know Your Role
Role players are crucial for teams to be successful in the NFL. These players often start on special teams and gradually earn the trust of the coaching staff to become more integral pieces of the game plan. This is where All may find himself after he’s medically cleared. The Bengals loved his tape and new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher raved about All back in April and stated, “Very well-rounded skill set. Size, athleticism, contributor in both the pass game and the run game. He’s physical. We think he can be really an all-around tight end that can help us in all phases. For a big guy — he’s 6-4 and change, 250 (pounds) — he can move and separate and change directions. He’s got a big catch radius. He attacks the football aggressively. He’s tough to tackle. Really, you throw on his target tape from this year and there’s a lot to get excited about. I think he can bring that to us early in his career.”
This confidence in All has to be music to the ears of Joe Burrow. He’s been missing that athletic tight end who can take over a game and elevate the offense. The Bengals may have multiple options for Burrow in this regard and could keep opposing defensive coordinators up late at night.
Main Photo: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
