Bengals Roundtable: Talking Tyler Eifert
By Jason Marcum
Apr 26, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals first round draft pick Tyler Eifert and head coach Marvin Lewis pose for a photo during a press conference at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
“What do you think of the Bengals’ selection of Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert?”
Dustin Meritt
I think he was the second best player on the board, would it have been nice to see Shariff Floyd next to Geno, yes. However if used right, Eifert will provide some needed 3rd down/redzone production that was a real problem last year. He also is one of the cleanest prospects in the draft, no medical, no off field, production, big school, intelligent kid. Eifert can play all over the formation and teams will have to choose if they want to continue doubling AJ Green. Last year I saw a lot of contested catches on offense and Eifert, unlike Gresham, excels at winning tight coverage battles.
Joe Johnson
Initially, I didn’t like the move. As you can see from the live blog and previous articles, I was really pushing for a Safety, like Matt Elam. I was really unhappy with the pick, but then I did some thinking. This is going to be a really good move. It is another weapon for Andy Dalton. Seeing that teams are going with more 2 TE systems, this seems logical. This also means that Jermaine Gresham is going to have to step it up if he wants to remain a Bengal. The offense should be better, A.J. might not get double teamed as often, and Andy Dalton’s life is going to be easier. It is also an extra blocker for whoever is going to be running the ball this season, whether it is BJGE, Eddie Lacy, Montee Ball, or whoever. This offense should be fun to watch this season. Nice pick-up by the Bengals.
Guttersnake
The selection of Eifert could prove to be genius if the Bengals walk away from the second round with Jonathan Cyprien and a stud running back, preferably someone complimentary to BJGE and not challenging for the same role. The third round might yield a serviceable mate to the the Law Firm’s efforts, but unlikely that a starting caliber safety will be hanging around when the Bengals pick again the second time in the second round. Right now, Philadelphia poses the largest threat to snag Cyprien before the Bengals head to the podium again. If that happens, I’m not sure if the Eifert pick can be labeled a smart one. …however, a perhaps unnoticed benefit of having Eifert on the roster is that with him, Gresham, Sanu, Jones, Hawkins, and Green, there is one less reason to have Brandon Tate hanging around.
Jason Marcum
Like it or not, Andy Dalton is not an elite quarterback, and if the Bengals are going to stick with him for the long-haul, they need to surround him with as much young talent as possible to build chemistry to allow him to maximize his abilities. Now that he has a running game that features power (BenJarvus Green-Ellis) and speed (Giovani Bernard) to go along with two Pro Bowl-caliber tight Ends (Jermaine Gresham and Eifert) and an All-Pro receiver (A.J. Green), there’s no excuse for Dalton to not lead the Bengals to their first postseason victory since 1990.
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