Is this a thing? Erick All has caught 4 passes in three straight games, looking like he’s going to be Joe Burrow’s tight end for the foreseeable future.
All (who played at both Michigan and Iowa) passes the eyeball test. And he’s got better all-around ability than Cincinnati’s other tight ends. He’s faster and more athletic than Drew Sample and Tanner Hudson, and with more blocking ability than Mike Gesicki (who’s really more of a big wide receiver).
All fell to the fourth round of the draft in part because of back and ACL injuries his final two years in college. But he’s healthy now, and the Bengals have been using him. He didn’t play much in the opener, but perhaps he should have (Hudson lost a goal-line fumbles that was key in that upset loss). The next week, All was on the field for over half of their plays at Arrowhead. He moved up to a 60 percent playing time share last week.
He seems to be working out just fine as a pass catcher. They’ve thrown him 4 passes in each of the last three games, and he’s caught all of them.
I think we’re getting to the point where All is looking like a possibility as a lower-level second tight end in a typical 12-team league (a top-24 tight end, if you will). In a dynasty format, he makes sense as a developmental prospect.
C.J. Uzomah caught 49 passes for the Bengals in 2021. Hayden Hurst the following season caught 52 in 13 games. All seems to be headed for that kind of future. And maybe he’s a little better than those guys.
In the 32-team era, only 18 rookie tight ends have had three-game streaks with 4-plus catches. All but five of those guys at some point in their career had a top-10 season at the position (using PPR scoring).
| CATCHING 4 PASSES IN 3 STRAIGHT GAMES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Best Year | PPR |
| 2002 | Jeremy Shockey, NYG | 4 | 65-891-7 | 3 |
| 2005 | Heath Miller, Pitt. | 3 | 71-816-8 | 4 |
| 2007 | Greg Olsen, Chi. | 4 | 80-1073-3 | 3 |
| 2008 | Dustin Keller, NYJ | 4 | 65-815-5 | 10 |
| 2008 | John Carlson, Sea. | 3 | 55-627-5 | 7 |
| 2010 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. | 5 | 79-910-7 | 3 |
| 2010 | Jermaine Gresham, Cin. | 4 | 64-737-5 | 10 |
| 2010 | Tony Moeaki, K.C. | 3 | 47-556-3 | 17 |
| 2013 | Jordan Reed, Was. | 6 | 87-952-11 | 2 |
| 2013 | Tim Wright, T.B. | 3 | 54-571-5 | 13 |
| 2017 | Evan Engram, NYG | 4 | 114-963-4 | 2 |
| 2021 | Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 4 | 68-1026-1 | 6 |
| 2021 | Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 6 | 63-732-2 | 8 |
| 2022 | Chig Okonkwo, Ten. | 3 | 54-528-1 | 21 |
| 2023 | Dalton Kincaid, Buff. | 7 | 73-673-2 | 11 |
| 2023 | Sam LaPorta, Det. | 4 | 86-889-10 | 1 |
| 2023 | Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 4 | 31-355-2 | 29 |
| 2024 | Erick All, Cin. | 3 | ? | ? |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan