Who Should I Start? Mike Gesicki or Juwan Johnson


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
6.0 0.0 0.0 2.4 25.1 0.2

Mike Gesicki News

Mike Gesicki Sliding Toward Streaming Territory

Friday, August 28, 9:53 AM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki has made enough plays this summer to stay involved, but not enough to strengthen his redraft case. Gesicki caught 28 of 42 targets for 307 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games last season after a pectoral injury cost him four games. He has flashed in camp, including a contested catch during the August 16 two-minute drill, a 17-yard reception and another third-down grab from Joe Burrow on August 18, and a red-zone touchdown against Chicago two days later. The problem is still volume. Cincinnati's current depth chart lists Drew Sample ahead of Gesicki, while Erick All Jr. is back from ACL surgery and Tanner Hudson remains part of a deep rotation. Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown also sit well ahead of the tight ends in the target hierarchy. Gesicki showed he can produce with more opportunity when he caught 65 passes for 665 yards in 2024, but that workload is difficult to project with the offense healthy. RotoBaller currently ranks him TE28, leaving him better suited for matchup-based streaming than a standard redraft roster spot.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
8.9 0.0 0.0 3.6 40.1 0.2

Juwan Johnson News

Juwan Johnson Has a Clear Path to Early-Season Targets

Wednesday, September 2, 8:12 PM

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson should see an uptick in targets early this season as he helps to fill the void of wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (hamstring). Johnson was a wide receiver in college, so even though he's a tight end now, he remains a legitimate receiving threat with impressive size and athleticism. While the coaching staff is high on Devaughn Vele, there's a very legitimate chance that Johnson ranks second on the team in targets (behind Chris Olave) for the duration of Tyson's absence. Tyson is expected to be sidelined through late October, setting up Johnson to see enough targets for him to rank as a low-end TE1. There's certainly precedent here, as Johnson was the overall TE8 while playing in a similar-looking offense last year. It's also encouraging that he performed better with Tyler Shough as his quarterback (11.5 PPR points per game) than with Spencer Rattler (9.5 PPR points per game). Johnson currently has an ADP of 146.3, which corresponds to the 13th round and makes him the 16th tight end off the board.


Mike Gesicki vs. Juwan Johnson

Still trying to decide between Gesicki and Johnson? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Mike Gesicki is projected to score 6.0 points this week while Juwan Johnson is projected to score 8.9 points.