2024 Dynasty Rookie Post-Draft Update: Erick All

The NFL Draft is behind us, rookie drafts are taking place, and as dynasty managers we are looking ahead to the upcoming season. In our Dynasty Rookie Post-Draft Update series, we break down all the incoming fantasy-relevant rookies, looking at their profiles and where they fit. The basis of the rookie profile involves the usage of STORM analysis, focusing on five key components: Situation, Talent, Opportunity, Risk, and Market.

Situation

Name: Erick All

Position: Tight End

Pro Team: Cincinnati Bengals

College Team: Iowa (Transferred from Michigan)

Draft Status: Round 4; Pick 115

All is the latest tight end to come out of Iowa City, Iowa. Hawkeye tight ends have taken over the league, with George Kittle, TJ Hockenson and, of course, Sam LaPorta all in the top nine of dynasty tight ends. But, All only spent a year at Iowa, and has been plagued by injuries during his college career. We’ll see if he can fill the massive shoes and be the next star tight end in the fraternity of Iowa alums.

All was born in Indiana, but moved to Ohio after a devastating house fire that nearly killed him. He attended Fairfield High School and played three years on the varsity team. He moved from wide receiver to tight end after his sophomore season and made All-District teams in each of his junior and senior seasons. He caught 30 balls for 465 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, leading the team to its fourth straight appearance in the state playoffs.

All attended a Michigan summer camp before his senior season and committed to the Wolverines that June. He was a four-star recruit and chose Michigan over Boston College, Florida State and Notre Dame, amongst other Power Five programs. All spurned his home state, going north to Michigan. He grew up an Alabama fan and disliked Ohio State football.

All’s first two seasons in Ann Arbor were quiet, but in 2021 he finally broke out. He caught 38 balls for 437 yards and two touchdowns, earning an honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team. He only played three games in 2022, missing the rest of the season with a spinal surgery. He apparently had some disagreements with the Michigan staff about how his back injury should be handled and decided to enter the transfer portal. Iowa was a target for All when he entered the portal, and he committed soon after visiting.

In one season at Iowa, All only played in seven games thanks to an ACL injury. Despite that, with Iowa’s horrible offense last season, All still led the team in receiving yards. He caught 21 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He declared for the NFL Draft, where he was selected in the fourth round by the Bengals. He was the sixth tight end selected.

Talent

Erick All’s Combine Results:

• Height: 6’ 4”
• Weight: 252 lbs
• Arm: 33”
• Hand: 10 1/8”

No athletic testing due to ACL injury on right knee.

With no athletic testing available, we have to rely on All’s game film to analyze his talent. All is a move tight end who won’t be asked to block much while he’s on the field, especially in the passing game. He’s a willing blocker, especially in the run game, but on pass plays he’s more likely to be running routes.

Speaking of routes, he runs a full route tree, but his technique can be a bit sloppy. He’s a good athlete for his size and can pull away from linebackers who are asked to cover him. He excels on seam routes thanks to his straight-line speed. He does a nice job at the catch point with solid hands and strong grip. He has big hands to pluck the ball out of the air, even in traffic. He’s a bully after the catch, running through tacklers and outrunning defenders.

Iowa TE Erick All will be Joe Burrow’s best friend in the red zone 🔥pic.twitter.com/xpPUWh8jF5

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) April 27, 2024

 

When he’s on the field, All is a dangerous weapon in the passing game. The problem, of course, is staying on the field. His 2022 and 2023 seasons ended with lengthy injuries. He’s been out with the team during off-season workouts, but he could be looking at a redshirt season at Cincinnati.

Bengals rookie Erick All going through drills as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL. This is our first look at him on the field.

He’s working with Tycen Anderson and DJ Ivey, among others. pic.twitter.com/8mtQr2fLfb

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) May 14, 2024

 

Opportunity

Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart:

Depth Chart from 4for4 team depth charts.

The Bengals have struggled to get production at the tight end position for years, basically since Tyler Eifert was on the team. They aggressively addressed the position this off-season, beginning with the signing of Mike Gesicki. While Gesicki is a name at the tight end position, he really hasn’t lived up to that name, and the contract shows it. In his one season in New England, Gesicki failed to raise his stock at all. He caught 29 balls for 244 yards and two touchdowns, all career lows if you exclude his rookie season. It’s only a one-year contract, worth a minuscule $2.5 million.

The team also addressed the position in the draft, selecting All in the fourth and then Tanner McLachlan in the sixth. With Gesicki and Tanner Hudson scheduled to hit free agency after this season, the Bengals could be building up this tight end room for 2025 and beyond, possibly planning for a future without Tee Higgins as well. All and McLachlan both project as F tight ends, so they’ll likely compete for the role in the future. Just because All has the higher draft capital, doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to be the more valuable fantasy asset. McLachlan has more developing to do than All does, and likely has the higher hill to climb. If he can stay healthy for a full season, and the team lets Gesicki and Hudson walk, Erick All could have a huge opportunity in Cincinnati in 2025 and beyond.

Risk

Image courtesy of Sports Reference.

The risk involved with All mostly comes from his injury history. All called his back surgery “life-changing” in 2022. In May, he said, “my back was killing me and then I went into surgery, woke up from surgery and felt completely normal.” He said that, since the surgery, his back hasn’t been a problem for him. He’s pushed back on that being part of his injury history because of that.

His ACL recovery has been “way harder,” but he’s expected to be cleared for training camp later this month. Even if he is cleared, recovery from an ACL is not just a flip of a switch. It often takes a full season for a player to get their explosiveness back to what it was pre-surgery. For a player like All who relies on his speed and burst, this could be an issue early on. But, the Bengals are prepared to give him as much time as he needs to get back to 100%. The goal for the Bengals and All for this season is to keep him healthy so he can be a weapon for the Bengals going forward.

While he’s getting back to 100%, that will give him time to develop his blocking and route running for the professional game. With a “redshirt” rookie season, All could really develop his game and take it to the next level, as long as he gets his explosiveness back after the injury. For All, it’s all about staying healthy and being ready for 2025 when the Bengals will really need a receiving weapon at the tight end position.

Market

Data courtesy of DLF June Dynasty ADP.

Data courtesy of DLF ADP History.

In dynasty startup drafts, All is being selected as the 41st tight end off the board, 271st overall. He’s going after teammate Mike Gesicki (TE39) and Daniel Bellinger. He’s being selected before rookies Jared Wiley and Jaheim Bell. He’s a very cheap tight end option in startups and could be a sneaky stash and hope for 2025 and beyond.

In 1QB rookie drafts, he’s going at the very end of the fourth round at 48 overall. He’s being selected as the sixth tight end off the board. Compared to the other players being selected in that range, All seems like a great value, especially if your league has a taxi squad where you can stash All through his “redshirt” season. The other players with similar rookie draft ADPs do not have the same path to a starting job that All has. If he didn’t have his injury history, and the Bengals didn’t have Gesicki and Hudson, All would likely be an early third-round pick, probably a few picks behind Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Erick All’s 1QB trade value via the DLF Trade Analyzer Tool.

There isn’t much of a trade market for a player who could’ve been taken with the final pick of the fourth round of the rookie draft, but he may be worth keeping an eye on in the trade market. If you’re making another deal with the All manager, it might be worth throwing him into the offer as an under-the-radar throw-in. His trade value will likely decrease as the season goes on, considering his injury and the traffic ahead of him at the position. With patience, and roster space, All could be a top 20 tight end if he earns the opportunity.

Erick All is an athletic move tight end who needs to prove that he can stay healthy at the NFL level before he ever becomes a dynasty fantasy football asset. With that being said, in deeper leagues or leagues with taxi squads, he’s a nice stash and hope option that can be had for almost nothing in rookie drafts or the trade market. 2025 could be the year for All once he’s fully recovered from his knee injury and Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson have moved on from the team. If Tee Higgins leaves too, there will be even more targets available for the F tight end on this team. He just has to beat out Tanner McLachlan for that role when the time comes. For now, in most dynasty leagues, he’s probably not worth having on your team just yet.