Drew Sample Injury History & Analysis

Bengals "TE" Mike Gesicki ran the team's third-most routes in Sunday night's loss to the Chargers. His 43 routes trailed only Ja'Marr Chase (55) and Tee Higgins (50), and constituted 76.8% of Joe Burrow's dropbacks. But Gesicki drew just 2 targets and caught nary a one. TEs Tanner Hudson and Drew Sample also garnered 2 targets apiece vs. L.A.

The Bengals on Sunday activated rookie TE Erick All from the non-football injury list. He had been sitting out the start of camp in working back from the October ACL tear that ended his college career prematurely.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow said recently that his offense should be ready to use more varied formations this season after some personnel changes. New OC Dan Pitcher highlighted TE as a position group he likes.

The Bengals grabbed Arizona TE Tanner McLachlan in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. A no-star recruit from Canada, McLachlan started his college career at FCS-level Southern Utah. His four years there included just 15 catches and a 2020 torn ACL. McLachlan missed the entire 2021 season and then transferred to Arizona. He turned in two productive seasons for the Wildcats, posting 34-456-2 and 45-528-4 receiving lines and passing Rob Gronkowski as the school’s all-time leader in receptions by a TE. McLachlan is a 6’5, 244-pounder and earned a solid 7.66 Relative Athletic Score at the Combine, highlighted by a 4.61-second 40 time. He’s a smooth athlete with reliable hands, but his route running needs refinement. That’s a bigger concern considering McLachlan is already 25 years old. He joins fellow rookie TE Erick All in Cincinnati, along with TEs Mike Gesicki, Tanner Hudson, and Drew Sample. It’s a fine landing spot, but McLachlan is well off the redraft radar and isn’t an exciting dynasty target.

The Bengals added Iowa TE Erick All in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. All’s college career was marred by injury. He needed spinal surgery in 2022 and then tore his right ACL this past October. He flashed at two different schools when he was healthy, though. All tallied 38 catches and 437 yards for Michigan in 2021 – both marks ranking second on the team. Then he led Iowa with 299 receiving yards this past year, despite missing the final seven games with that knee injury. In fact, All accounted for a whopping 36.6% of Iowa’s receiving yards in his seven outings. His 2.62 yards per route ranked third among 81 TEs with 30+ targets. Durability is a legitimate concern, but All is an intriguing sleeper in this rookie TE class. Landing with QB Joe Burrow only adds to that sleeper appeal. All joins Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, and Tanner Hudson in what should be a pretty wide-open TE room this summer. We’ll see who earns snaps.