Who Should I Start? Mike Gesicki or Noah Gray

Wednesday, August 13, 7:12 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki (hamstring) is still working his way back from a hamstring injury at training camp and was working on a rehab field on Wednesday, according to Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer. A hamstring injury has kept Gesicki out of practices for the last week, and he also missed the preseason opener versus the Philadelphia Eagles last week. The 29-year-old's hamstring injury isn't believed to be all that serious, but the Bengals could hold him out of their second preseason game on Monday against the Washington Commanders as a precaution. Cincy recently signed Noah Fant for TE depth, but when healthy, Gesicki should be the primary pass-catching tight end for the Bengals. He caught 65 of 83 targets for 665 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games (three starts) a year ago and is ranked as a low-end TE2 in fantasy for the upcoming season.

Friday, August 8, 10:40 AM

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray has looked very strong in training camp and is receiving strong buzz from reports. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that the tight end looks like a "high-end" starter. Throughout his four-year career in Kansas City, Gray has typically taken the backseat to future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce. However, after catching just 28 passes in both 2022 and 2023, Gray was able to enjoy a mini-breakout season in 2024. Last fall, Gray caught a career-best 40 passes for 437 yards and five touchdowns. He enjoyed productive stretch from Weeks 10 through 15 when he averaged a solid 10.2 PPR points per game. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on his progression early in the season as he could continue to carve out a role behind Kelce. However, for now, Kelce remains the clear TE1 in Kansas City. Gray is best viewed as a high-upside TE3 in deeper formats.