Grading the Jaguars 2020 Free Agents: Tight End Tyler Eifert
The Jacksonville Jaguars, like many teams in the National Football League, found themselves in a precarious situation last spring. A global pandemic meant scouts and coaches were limited to tape when evaluating players. As such, the Jaguars kept their free agent signings modest.
From there, the list shrunk even more as a handful of those signed elected to retire and/or opt-out for the season.
There were six though that saw significant time on the field for the Jacksonville Jaguars this season and we’ll spend the next few days grading their performance.
Tight end Tyler Eifert came to Jacksonville from the Cincinnati Bengals. The former first-round pick out of Notre Dame spent seven seasons with the Bengals. What made Eifert interesting though was that prior to coming to Jacksonville, he’d played only one full 16-game season. It was the possibility of what he could do in Jay Gruden’s offense that made Eifert a titillating prospect.
What Went Right
Eifert was able to take some of the load that James O’Shaughnessy had been handling primarily on his own. He finished with 36 receptions on 60 targets and 349 yards, which led the Jags tight end unit. He converted 22 first downs and picked up 105 yards after the catch.
Eifert was a solid option on the edge and over the middle of the field. He's big but nimble, able to shoulder up a defender and run a precise route.
Former Jags Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden coached Eifert as a rookie, when both were with the Bengals. As the tight end evolved, Gruden saw a guy who can change a game…but one also hampered by injuries that had affected his career.
“He makes some flashes,” Gruden said of Eifert in early December.
“He’s done some good things for us. Like I said, he’s kind of been beat up his whole career, unfortunately. He’s had a lot of different nagging injuries. When I saw him as a rookie right out of college, he’s a little bit different than he is now. He’s older obviously. He’s had those injuries, the back, the foot, the knee.
“All these injuries kind of had a little bit wear and tear on him, but he definitely still can come in and out of cuts. He’s got great hands. He’s got a great feel for the game, so yeah, I think there’s still a lot of good football left in Tyler.”
What Went Wrong
As Gruden mentioned, injuries have made it hard to accurately grade Tyler Eifert, who missed another game this season. But perhaps that tells us a lot of what we need to know about the eight-year veteran. Those who get hurt stay hurt and at some point, one has to wonder if Eifert—who’s played an average of 9.25 games per season during his eight-year career—is worth the risk of paying him.
There’s also the incompletion rate. This one isn’t completely his fault. It had something to do with the carousel of quarterbacks the Jaguars shuffled through the backfield last season. And according to Pro Football Focus, Eifert had no drops. But the 40% incompletion rate when thrown his way is second-worst amongst Jags receivers (minimum 20 receptions). Most tight end passes are short crossing routes. At that depth of field, the catchable passes increase and so should the reception rate.
Overall Grade On This Signing: C+
There’s a lot to like about Tyler Eifert. And as the tight end role evolves to resemble more players like Travis Kelce and George Kittle—and the upcoming draft prospect Kyle Pitts—teams have to mold their own unit’s to keep up. Eifert has the skill set to be that guy. If the Jaguars elect to keep him for another year to see what else they can do with him, it’d be an understandable move. As for his 2020 season though, he was nowhere near the impact he was expected to be for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
