Spotlighting the Cincinnati Bengals' TE Position Heading into the 2012 Season

If you paid only cursory attention to the Cincinnati Bengals last year, you'd think they had just one tight end on the roster—the dynamic Jermaine Gresham. However, there were three on the team, all of whom made contributions. 

This year, the Bengals have four tight ends and will likely utilize two of them at a time far more often than they did last season. The team is about to become a bit more versatile and creative in offensive coordinator Jay Gruden's second year, which means we'll be seeing a lot more of players not named Gresham in 2012.

Let's take a look at these four tight ends and how they may factor into the Bengals' plans this season.

Jermaine Gresham

Jermaine Gresham was the Bengals' third most-targeted receiver last season, with 92 passes thrown his way, resulting in 56 receptions, 596 yards and six touchdowns. Though the other three tight ends on the roster may cut into his targets this season, Gresham is clearly in no danger of losing his starting job.

With quarterback Andy Dalton having even more time to prepare for his second season in the league and Gresham certainly being one of his go-to targets, it should be another good year for Gresham, even if the other tight ends on the team get more passes thrown their way.

He's simply a playmaker, and playmakers thus need to get their hands on the ball—and he most certainly will.

Donald Lee

Donald Lee was re-signed by the Bengals this offseason and will compete for the No. 2 spot behind—and alongside—Gresham. Lee took the field sparingly last season as a receiver, but he was used as a blocker when the team went with two-tight-end sets. He caught 11 passes for 115 yards and should again see time as a blocking tight end.

Colin Cochart

Lee's biggest competition for that primary blocking tight end job will be Colin Cochart, a second-year player who didn't see much action last season, aside from when Gresham missed time with a hamstring injury.

Cochart made the most of those limited snaps as a receiver. He caught just five passes for 44 yards, but that included one touchdown.

Cochart's advantage over Lee is age. Lee is 32 years old, while Cochart is in his sophomore season. Either way, neither Cochart nor Lee will be getting as many chances to catch passes this year as in the last.

Orson Charles

Cochart and Lee's receiving snaps will be much decreased this year thanks to the team drafting Orson Charles. Charles is a dynamic receiver much like Gresham, and he will likely see his fair share of targets as he learns on the job.

In his final season at Georgia, Charles had 45 receptions for 574 yards and five touchdowns. Look for Charles to cut into Gresham's targets somewhat this year, but the two should generally be complementary pieces of an ever-strengthening passing offense. 

The hope here is that Charles and Gresham can be the AFC North's version of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez—two tight ends who are both scoring threats every time they get their hands on the ball.

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