Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or Mike Gesicki

Sunday, July 5, 5:36 AM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki is coming off a down year in which a pectoral injury limited him to only 13 games and 28 receptions, the lowest total since his rookie season. Returning for the final seven games following a five-week stint on the Reserve/Injured list, he was notably more effective to close the year, playing on a 17-game pace of 49 receptions for 597 yards, but in finding the end zone only twice, Gesicki was still just the TE14 in that span. Following an early-career stretch with the Dolphins in which he finished as a low-end TE1 in three straight seasons, he has not returned to the top 12 across his last four campaigns with Miami, New England, and Cincinnati, only once cracking the top 22, and his most productive stretches with the Bengals have come as an injury fill-in for either Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins. With the offense operating at full health, Gesicki's involvement has been sporadic, with head coach and playcaller Zac Taylor leaning heavily into 11-personnel usage. Gesicki could again see fantasy managers race to the waiver wires should either Chase or Higgins miss time in the coming year, but at RotoBaller's TE28, he is unlikely to factor into 2026 drafts.