The last time we saw Erick All Jr., he lined up right in front of Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby. All pretended to chip him, quickly turned up field, turned on the jets and got open for an 18-yard catch down the seam. Two plays later, All tore his ACL.
Six-hundred-and-seventy-nine days will have passed between that game and Week 1 of the 2026 season. All missed a year and a half due to that knee injury. Recently, he was asked about highlights he delivered and qualities that he showed as a rookie in 2024.
“I showed them that I can handle myself as a blocker,” All said. “I felt like I needed to show more with inline blocking. I needed to do better. I was able to show them I could catch the ball downfield and break some tackles.”
But nothing specific from that season stands out to him as he looks back on it.
“I haven’t thought about that in a while,” All said.
It’s been a long time, but now he has the chance to pick up right where he left off.
“This guy’s really worked hard in the rehab phase for someone who’s really had football taken away from him for close to two years,” Zac Taylor said. “Now he has a chance to get back there, and I’m happy for him.”
It’s not hyperbole at all to say that All’s return changes the entire offense. The goal line offense and the four-minute offense hit a different gear with All on the field. The under center offense takes on a different form, and All gives the Bengals a tight end threat on under center play action passes. Even in the traditional shotgun offense, All has the juice to get open and make plays down the field.
“He’s such a different style of player,” tight ends coach James Casey said. “There aren’t a lot of guys out there who are as aggressive as he is and play as tough and physical as he is. Coming off that major of a knee injury, as a coach, you’re worried about if he’s going to move the same. Is he going to be as fast and explosive? It’s hard to tell until you get into game speed, but I’ve been impressed.”
All’s highlights from 2024 are reminders of what he brings to the table.
It’s a fun highlight reel.
As a receiver, he caught a seam ball on a fake screen, was a weapon downfield on under center play action passes, made defenders miss with the ball in his hands, turned simple chip and release plays into exciting gains and even caught a first down pass on a play that was a fake jet sweep/deep ball to All.
As a blocker, he moved a defender downfield by about 20 yards on a Chase Brown screen, he held the point of attack as the critical blocker on a screen to Ja’Marr Chase that turned into a touchdown and he pummeled defenders from the Ravens and Eagles on goal line touchdown runs. He lined up just about everywhere, from fullback to the slot.
This is the part of the game that All most looks forward to resuming.
“If I’m on the field and I’m playing and I’m blocking, I’m out there to try to win and be the guy that’s willing to go through hell and back to put the team in a better opportunity to win,” All said. “I want to be who I am. Be a dog when I get the opportunity to inline block. I want to show these guys I can put my hand in the ground and get after some big-name guys on the defensive side.”
Who does he have in mind?
“Every last one of them,” All said. “I’m not calling out anybody. I want to go out there and (expletive) embarrass guys in every which way possible.”
He’s going to get the opportunity. Taylor said that All is going to be full-go for the season opener.
All may not get announced as a starter and run out of the tunnel, but he’s going to be one of the most important 11 people on the Bengals’ offense.
For all of the talk about the Bengals establishing an under center offense and finishing games with their rushing attack, All is a piece that can really bring that to life.
“I know he was in a car crash,” Taylor said. “That’s a little silly to say that it’s like a car crash on every play. It’s the mentality he plays with, and it’s really good for an offense to be able to utilize a guy in a lot of different ways. He loves football. I think everyone that’s talked to him sees that very clearly. Really excited to get him back out there.”
With All in 2024, the Bengals leaned more heavily into two tight end sets. They weren’t able to do as much of that in 2025 because they didn’t have versatile enough tight ends to make it worth it. They were better off sticking with 11 personnel and Andrei Iosivas in the slot.
Now, entering a 2026 season where the big trend around the NFL is expanded to be an increase in two tight end sets, the Bengals have All back in the mix to execute that.
The Bengals can put him on the field with Mike Gesicki and be more of a “spread” 12 personnel team that can run a high-powered shotgun offense with two tight ends on the field. The Bengals could also put All on the field with Drew Sample for more of a power 12 personnel grouping that can pummel through linebackers and safeties.
Even within those specific 12 personnel groups, All could line up almost anywhere. The Bengals can use him as a fullback, an inline Y tight end, a moving tight end who roams across the line of scrimmage for sift blocks or a slot receiver.
“You’re always looking for what your advantage is on offense,” Casey said. “A lot of it is based off what the defense does and what we feel like our matchups are. He’s such a unique player where it gives you a lot of value when you have a guy who can do the stuff he does. It can keep the defense off-balanced.”
All is full-go now, and the Bengals managed have him to get him to this point. There were times in training camp where his snap count was scaled back to help him get through the summer fresh. He experienced some expected soreness as he worked in his rebuilt knee, and he “had to be held back” at different points of the summer with the Bengals being careful.
All went through the comeback process the right way, and now he gets to play real football.
Casey has been most impressed with All’s route running. There was no doubt that All would come back ready to hit people. The question coming back from a torn ACL was about what All could do in space.
“He can run,” Casey said. “He’s back to being Erick.”
How would you describe “being Erick?”
“If you tell a guy to run into wall, most guys are not going to really do that,” Casey said. “He’ll run right through the wall. Hopefully, he hits the guy.”
Finally, he has a chance to do what he loves again.
“It will feel great,” All said about his upcoming season debut. “When you go out there and do your job and get it done and we win, there’s no better feeling besides having your kids. That’s it.”
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