Bengals' Week 1 depth chart requires a little bit of nuance at the tight end position

Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed to reporters that cornerback Dax Hill and right tackle Trent Brown would be the starters for Week 1 at their respective positions. Hill won the starting job over DJ Turner II and is also listed as the backup nickelback to Mike Hilton. Brown is starting while rookie Amarius Mims continues to work back from a strained pectoral he suffered during the preseason.

But those two positions don't stand out as the most interesting upon first glance. The tight end position is where a conclusion can be found about the top two players.

Bengals aren't hiding how they view Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample 

Tight ends Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample each signed contracts with the Bengals this offseason, but their roles couldn't be more opposite.

So when Sample is listed ahead of Gesicki on the depth chart, don't take it too literally. 

Back in the preseason opener, the only time Cincinnati's starters played the entire month, both Gesicki and Sample saw the field for most of the 13-play opening drive before being taken out of the game. 

Gesicki took the field first and was on for eight snaps. Sample was on for seven. Six of Gesicki's snaps came on passing plays, all of them as an eligible receiver. Five of Sample's snaps were as a blocker, with four of them on running plays. 

Five of Gesicki's eight snaps came in the slot. All of Sample's snaps were taken from an inline position. The sample size was small, but it's an obvious reflection of how both players will be used throughout the season. 

Gesicki may see the field more, but Sample is the "real" tight end of the two. That explains why he's listed as the starter. I speculated this could be the case when Sample was ahead of Gesick on the first depth chart of training camp:

"There's no doubt Gesicki will out-snap Sample when the real games begin as he's locked in for a notable receiving role. This might just be semantics as to who's the 'real' tight end of the duo." 

Listing only one tight end as the starter is also a reflection of the scheme. While there will be an uptick in 12 personnel usage, which features two tight ends on the field, 11 personnel with only one tight end will continue to be the base of the offense. 

And in those packages, Gesicki may not even be a tight end. 60% of his career passing snaps have been taken in the slot, and over 80% of them have come from being detached from the trenches altogether. 

The Bengals aren't asking him to do anything different. 

There will be games when Sample is the first of the two out on the field, which will credit him with a start. Gesicki will have starts credited to him throughout the year as well. There will be plenty of plays and drives when they're on the field together.

How they're stacked on a piece of paper will make no difference.