Fantasy Impact: Cincinnati Bengals Select Tyler Eifert

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Tyler Eifert with the 21st pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Eifert has long been considered the consensus No. 1 overall tight end in the draft and is my highest-rated player at this position since Vernon Davis went sixth overall back in 2006. Just add another weapon to Cincinnati's plethora of talent on offense.

Tyler Eifert is one of my favorite tight end prospects to enter the NFL in quite some time. His massive frame and stellar hands indicates that he could have a Rob Gronkowski-type production early on in his career. He utilizes that aforementioned 6’5” and 250 pound frame to fend off defenders at the point of contact. In addition, his stellar 4.68 40-yard dash time at the combine indicates that the Notre Dame product has the ability to stretch the field.

You will see him line up both in the slot and on the outside. Again, this causes mismatches for opposing defenses. Defensive backs are too small to handle him,  while most linebackers or safeties won’t be able to deal with his speed. Eifert possesses soft hands, runs crisp routes and will be an immediate red-zone threat.

College Stats

Fantasy Impact with the Cincinnati Bengals 

The larger question here is what happens to the fantasy value of one Jermaine Gresham? He has long been considered a decent back end TE1 option in standard leagues, but the addition of Eifert could change that.  At the very least, Eifert might take some targets away from Gresham; who caught less than 70 percent of the pass thrown in his direction last year.

On the other hand, Eifert could going to be a stud out of the gate. He will provide Andy Dalton with ridiculous receiving ability in the red zone and should provide some touchdowns in his rookie season. In terms of PPR leagues, you can expect three-to-four receptions per outing.

Both Gresham and Eifert are now borderline TE1 options. It now depends on how Jay Gruden decides to utilize these two talented tight ends in Cincinnati's passing attack; especially with A.J. Greene requiring a ton of targets.