Tight end All in on new team: ‘We’re gonna get a Super Bowl out of this’
Erick All was doing a chest and arms workout in the weight room at his alma mater Fairfield High School’s fieldhouse when he got the call from Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor.
The former University of Iowa tight end was trying to stay busy as he fought the nerves of what he hoped would be his draft day, while in the next room, his family, friends, and former coaches and teammates were holding a party for him.
All initially wondered if he was getting pranked.
Cincinnati had in fact selected him in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Saturday, taking him at No. 115 overall. He becomes the second Fairfield product on the roster, joining offensive lineman Jackson Carman, who also was in attendance at his party.
“It’s kind of surreal,” All said. “I was doing a workout, so it kind of caught me off guard. When I got the call, I thought ‘no way,’ and I just couldn’t believe it. I had to make sure I wasn’t getting prank called for a second. It was crazy.”
All, who graduated from Fairfield in 2019, spent his first four years at Michigan before transferring to Iowa in 2023, and he missed 18 games over his final two collegiate seasons because of back surgery to repair a herniated disc in 2022 and ACL surgery in 2023.
The 6-foot-4, 252-pound tight end said his back is no longer an issue and his knee recovery is going well enough he expects to be ready for training camp. All led Iowa in receiving yards last season despite missing the final seven games and now follows a long line of former Hawkeye tight ends to make it to the NFL, including George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant and Sam Laporta most recently.
“Tight ends who love football and love that feeling of being a team like that just end up at Iowa, and they just so happen to be the best of the best of the best,” All said. “I wasn’t really thinking anything like that when I made the decision. It just so happened.”
An “all-around tight end,” as offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher called him, All said his versatility is the strongest part of his game. He is a pass-catcher with the physicality to also be an effective blocker in the running game.
All began his high school career as a wide receiver but switched to tight end during a first-team Allgreater Miami Conference season in 2017. He was the Indians’ top receiver as a senior in 2018, helping the team to the playoffs for a fourth straight year.
Being back at his old high school stadium Saturday and learning he was going to be a Cincinnati Bengals brought things “full circle,” he said. He looks forward to representing his hometown team, though he grew up in a family of Cowboys fans. All also joins several former Michigan teammates in Cincinnati, including D J Turner II, Dax Hill and Brad Robbins.
All couldn’t help but seem a little star-struck about the idea of catching passes from Joe Burrow.
“It’s crazy just hearing that,” All said. “I don’t even know what to think. We’re gonna get a Super Bowl out of this. We are.”
Bengals double up at tight end
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said All’s injuries are what made him still available for them in the fourth round because otherwise he would have gone much sooner based on what he’s put on film. The belief in All didn’t mean Cincinnati wasn’t going to take a shot on another tight end.
Tanner Mclachlan, out of Arizona, was still on the board when the Bengals’ first of two sixth-round picks rolled around, and they decided to double up at the position. Perhaps the selection could be viewed as insurance, but Taylor didn’t view it that way.
“The value with him,” Taylor said. “Surprised that he made it that far. I think a lot of similarities to what I said about Erick. This guy can win in the pass game. He can win and you can picture tight ends that have success here in the past couple of years for us where they turn something short into something much bigger on a third-and-5. They turn it into a first down, they break tackles. He’s got really good awareness, zone awareness. He’s just that savviness that I think is critical for our tight ends to have. … So really excited about those two guys.”
Physicality in the North
Cincinnati put some emphasis on adding some size in the trenches, and Taylor said that was intentional to be able to keep up with a physical AFC North.
First-round pick Amarius Mims is a 6-foot-7, 340pound offensive tackle, second-round pick Kris Jenkins is a 6-foot-3, 299pound defensive tackle but still athletic and thirdround pick Mckinnley Jackson is a 6-foot-1, 326-pound nose guard who can plug up holes.
“Those three guys specifically, really fit well for us,” Taylor said. “Like you said, it’s a physical division. Big men that have relentless effort and play with a lot of physicality matter in this division. And we got three of them.”
The Bengals only took one interior lineman, but selected a center, University of Miami product Matt Lee, who can study under Ted Karras.
“I think it’s a great fit for him,” Taylor said. “He did a great job down there this year in Miami. At that point he was a great pick for us. We are excited to get him in here. I think Ted will take to him and have a chance to show him the ropes.”