Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Athletic's Paul Dehner believes rookie WR Charlie Jones has a chance to take over as the Bengals' slot receiver when Tyler Boyd's contract runs out at the end of the 2023 season. “No matter where you throw the ball, he’s going to make the play,” WRs coach Troy Walters said of Jones. “He’s a technical route runner. If it’s a 15-yard route, he’s going to run 15. If it’s 12 yards, he’s going to get 12. He knows how to manipulate coverages to beat the defenders at the top of his routes. He just knows how to get open. He’s a football player, and that’s what we need. Very similar to when I was in Indianapolis with Peyton Manning. With Joe (Burrow), he wants you to be in the right spot at the right time, and that’s what Charlie does. He’s going to be in the right spot. He’s someone that Joe can count on.” Jones would need an injury to Boyd, Ja'Marr Chase, or Tee Higgins to have any chance at 2023 fantasy value. But he's an intriguing bench stash in deeper dynasty leagues as a potential asset in 2024 and beyond.

The Bengals grabbed RB Chase Brown in the 5th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Brown spent one year at Western Michigan before transferring to Illinois for the past four. He served as the Fighting Illini's lead back each of the last three seasons, culminating with a big 328-carry, 1,643-yard 2022 campaign. Brown added another 240 yards and three scores on 27 catches. The 5'10, 209-pounder blew up the Combine with a 4.43-second 40 time and 40-inch vertical to earn a 98th percentile Relative Athletic Score. Brown joins a Bengals backfield currently led by RB Joe Mixon. Mixon has been a rumored cut candidate, although Cincinnati's moves at RB so far this offseason make that seem unlikely. We'll keep an eye on the Mixon situation, but Brown at least has a chance to emerge as the Bengals' #2 RB this year. His competition for that spot: Chris Evans and Trayveon Williams.

The Bengals added WR Charlie Jones in the 4th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Jones is coming off a huge 2023 season for Purdue: 110 catches, 1,361 yards, and 12 TDs. So why did he last until Round 4? Because 2023 was Jones' sixth year in college. He did nothing across 2 seasons at Buffalo and then 3 at Iowa. He's already 24 years old and is just 175 pounds. It's a shaky prospect profile. This is a sneaky strong long-term landing spot, though. Jones is tied to QB Joe Burrow. And WRs Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are set to hit free agency next offseason. It makes Jones worth stashing in deeper dynasty leagues.

The Bengals chose Edge Myles Murphy 28th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Murphy had a strange progression through three years at Clemson. He led the team with 12.0 tackles for loss as a true freshman in 2020 and then led the Tigers again in 2021. Murphy ranked just third on the team in total pressures as a junior, though. He presents some position versatility along the line and tested well at Clemson’s pro day. Murphy sat inside the top 10 of our pre-draft IDP rookie rankings. He goes to a Cincinnati defense that doesn't have an immediate edge need. Don't be surprised if Murphy sees limited rookie-year time.

ESPN's Mike Reiss reports that Patriots HC Bill Belichick "made it sound like the team views [Mike] Gesicki more as a receiver than a traditional tight end, putting him in the category with receivers DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton and Kendrick Bourne instead of with tight end Hunter Henry." That came from Reiss talking with Belichick at the recent league meetings. It's not clear whether the coach actually put Gesicki "in the category" with the wideouts, or if that's just Reiss' language. But this is the second Patriots writer we've seen point to Belichick treating Gesicki as more WR than TE. It certainly makes sense. As we pointed out when he signed, Gesicki has had his most productive years when playing primarily in the slot and/or out wide. He fares poorly from a traditional inline TE position. The biggest takeaway for fantasy football players is that it seems we should expect Gesicki to compete more with New England WRs for targets than with Henry. We'll keep watching for further signals on the usage for Gesicki, Henry, and the rest of an offense that will operate under a new OC (Bill O'Brien).

The Patriots are signing TE Mike Gesicki to a one-year deal worth "up to" $9 million, according to multiple reports. Gesicki was a forgotten man in HC Mike McDaniels' Dolphins offense last year, mustering just 32 catches for 362 yards and 5 TDs on a 45% snap rate. He's still just 27, though, and topped 700 receiving yards in both 2020 and 2021. He finished both of those seasons as a top-9 TE in PPR points, while ranking 6th and then 13th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade. Gesicki joins Hunter Henry in New England's TE room, but the two have played different roles to date. Henry played a career-low 26.5% of his pass snaps inline (according to Pro Football Focus) and a career-high 61.6% in the slot in 2021, his first year with the Patriots. Last season, though, he spent exactly the same amount of time (43.3% of pass snaps) in each role -- with a career-low 10.3% out wide. Gesicki has spent just 19.5% of his career snaps inline -- the traditional TE spot -- 58.9% in the slot and 21.1% out wide. Considering the current state of the New England WR corps (JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne), there's room for both TEs to be relevant. We'll look for clues on how the targets will be divvied. For now, don't consider Gesicki more than a low-TE2 in fantasy football drafts. And there's no reason to downgrade Henry's fantasy outlook. He has already been going in mid-TE3 range of best ball drafts. His career-long penchant for end-zone targets makes him well worth mixing in at that level.

The Panthers have reached a deal with former Bengals S Vonn Bell, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Carolina still has S Xavier Woods, who signed for three years as a free agent last offseason. The team lists Jeremy Chinn as a safety as well, but he moves around the formation. According to Pro Football Focus, Chinn actually played more snaps at slot CB than anywhere else last season. So expect the Panthers to have room for all three players in their primary defensive alignments. Cincinnati, meanwhile, must replace both safeties. Dax Hill -- a late first-round pick last April -- should fill one spot. We'll see about the other. Hill gets a boost in the dynasty rankings with these departures.

The Bengals are re-signing LB Germaine Pratt for three years at $21 million, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Pratt's playing time fluctuated a bit in 2022, his fourth season with the team. His 75.6% snap share across 15 regular-season games marked a career high and his third straight increase in that category. Pratt also played 83% or more of the snaps in each of the final five contests, including the three playoff contests. Cincinnati also significantly decreased Pratt's special-teams role in 2022. All of this points to Pratt potentially delivering more consistent IDP value in 2023. We boosted him up the dynasty rankings on this contract news.

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase tallied 5 catches, 61 yards and 1 score in Sunday’s win over Buffalo. That makes 5 straight games with a TD for the former LSU star. Chase scored in the 1st quarter on blown coverage. Later, he appeared to score in the back of the end zone, but upon review, refs determined that he didn’t complete the catch. Chase now hits the road to face Kansas City in the AFC Championship game.

Bengals LT Jonah Williams dislocated his left kneecap in Sunday night's win over the Ravens, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. HC Zac Taylor called Williams' status "week to week" on Monday. That suggests the LT will have trouble getting back in time for Sunday's game at Buffalo -- but that he has a chance to return if Cincinnati continues to advance. Reserve G Jackson Carman filled in against Baltimore after Williams went down. QB Joe Burrow still drew pressure on just 28.2% of his dropbacks for the game, according to Pro Football Focus, the 4th lowest rate among the 10 starting QBs so far in these playoffs.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow completed 23 of 32 passes for 209 yards and 1 TD in Sunday’s win over Baltimore. He leaned heavily on Ja’Marr Chase, who finished with 9-84-1 on a 37.5% target share. Burrow added a 1-yard TD on a sneak. Next up is a must-see matchup at Buffalo (Sunday, 3PM ET). The Bills exited the regular season sitting 2nd toughest vs. enemy QBs.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins (illness) practiced fully on Friday and doesn't possess an injury designation in advance of Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Ravens. The third-year wideout flopped last week, logging only 1 catch for 7 yards on 7 targets against this same Ravens defense. We expect Higgins to perform much better in this rematch as the Ravens rank as the 10th-best matchup for opposing WRs in adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins (illness) managed to practice in a limited fashion on Thursday. It's good to see the wideout is feeling better. We certainly hope he gets back to full health soon. We'll keep an eye on his status for Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Ravens tomorrow.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins (illness) didn't practice on Wednesday. We certainly hope he feels better and that he'll be able to practice soon ahead of Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Ravens. We'll keep an eye on this situation in the coming days.

Colts RB Zack Moss ran for 74 yards on 15 carries (4.9 per rush) in Sunday's 38-10 loss at the Giants. He clearly led the backfield for the 2nd straight game. RB Jordan Wilkins drew the group's only 2 targets, though, catching both for 14 yards. Moss has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over the past 3 games, following Jonathan Taylor's season-ending injury. He'll close out with an upside matchup against Houston's league-worst RB defense.

Bengals DL Sam Hubbard (calf) is questionable for Monday night's game against the Bills. He remained limited in practice all week after missing last Saturday's game. Hubbard might be worth a shot if his game weren't the last of the weekend. As it is, it will be difficult to wait for him in IDP lineups -- especially without knowing whether an active Hubbard might see a more limited role than usual. Try to avoid him.

The Colts leaned on errant passing of QB Nick Foles, for some reason, despite hanging close with the Chargers into the 2nd half of Monday night's loss. RB Zack Moss got just 7 carries in the 1st half, compared with 18 dropbacks for Foles. Moss averaged 5.3 yards on those attempts, with RB Jordan Wilkins mixing in for a 4-yard run. But Moss got just 5 more carries for the game, finishing with a 12-65 rushing line (5.4 per attempt). Wilkins logged the only other RB carry. RB Deon Jackson drew 3 targets, catching them for 9 yards. Moss and Wilkins garnered a target apiece. It was a puzzling approach with a clearly struggling QB and against what has been a soft run defense most of the year. We'll see whether the Colts try to get Moss going more against the Giants in Week 17. Someone should tell them that the Giants are allowing 5.3 yards per RB rush for the season.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow went 40-of-52 passing for 375 yards and 3 TDs (plus 2 INTs) in Saturday's win over the Patriots. Cincinnati dropped back on 65.5% of offensive plays despite jumping to a big early lead, facing a defense that has played the run tough. Burrow's scores went to WR Trenton Irwin (2) and WR Tee Higgins, who led the team with 128 yards on 8 catches. WR Ja'Marr Chase matched Higgins forr the reception lead, going for 79 yards. Cincinnati hosts the Bills in Week 17.

Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt (shoulder) is active for today's game against the Patriots.

The Bengals have ruled DE Sam Hubbard (calf) out for Saturday's game against the Patriots. EDGE Trey Hendrickson, however, will play after missing last week with a fractured left wrist. We'll see how effective he is with 1 good arm. Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt (shoulder) is questionable for the game.