Will The Patriots Use Tight End Mike Gesicki As A Wide Receiver In 2023? Fantasy Football Outlook

June 10, 2023

Will the Patriots use Mike Gesicki as a wide receiver in 2023? How will any changes affect his fantasy football value? Sam takes a look at what might happen in New England this upcoming NFL season.

If the New England Patriots want to compete in the highly competitive AFC East this upcoming season, they are going to have to get better on the offensive side of the football.

Head coach Bill Belichick has addressed this by adding some key pieces this offseason, one of which was free agent tight end, Mike Gesicki. The question now becomes, how will he be used?

Will Mike Gesicki be used as a tight end or wide receiver in 2023? How will this affect his fantasy football value? Let's take a closer look.

Will Mike Gesicki Be WR Eligible In Fantasy Football In 2023?

One thing the Patriots are famously known for is utilizing the two tight end sets as part of their offensive scheme. They have been doing this for well over a decade, dating back to the glory days of stars Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Those two TEs together made up perhaps the greatest and most productive duo in the history of the NFL.

This past season, the Pats had a much lesser tandem at the position aligning Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith as weapons for quarterback Mac Jones. Let's just say it didn't work out quite the way that had anticipated. Henry had a below-average season, and Smith was waived at year's end.

What is the plan for 2023? Belichick decided to sign the former Miami Dolphins TE in an attempt to get more production from the position this year. How exactly will the greatest coach in the history of the game decide to use the ginormous 6' 6'' and 246-pound frame of big #88?

Will Mike Gesicki Be Fantasy Eligible At TE And WR?

It's still to be determined how exactly the Patriots coaching staff will decide to use two very large tight ends when they head into their 2023 campaign. They know they must score a lot of points this season to keep pace with the likes of the high-flying Chiefs, Bills, Dolphins, and Raiders in the AFC, and figuring out their big, bruising TE tandem is perhaps their most important potential scheme change.

Gesicki is not as athletic as Hernandez or Gronkowski ever was, but he is a huge body that when open, could make a dangerous pairing with Henry, particularly in the red zone. And as we know, red zone targets often translate to touchdowns, which always translate to fantasy points. Could Belichick decide to use his new toy as a wide receiver at times? It's certainly possible, and if he becomes eligible for the position later into the 2023 fantasy football season, Gesicki's value automatically will rise.

The thinnest position annually in fantasy is undeniably tight end. The new Patriots pass catcher certainly won't be one of the top players picked in drafts this August, however, if his positional versatility is enhanced his value will slightly increase as the new season progresses. After a below-average 2022, his numbers could see quite an uptick in 2023 which would mean more fantasy production at potentially two different positions.

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