Should the Cleveland Browns target Tyler Eifert?

The Cleveland Browns were able to find value in other teams’ former first round picks, they could do it again with Tyler Eifert.

With the success of both Breshad Perriman and Greg Robinson as low risk reclamation projects last season for the Cleveland Browns, a lot of fans are looking around the NFL for other possibilities in the same mold.

One option with a number of similarities is tight end Tyler Eifert, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after six seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. The issue with Eifert is he only played played over half of the games in two of them.

Eifert has been a source of frustration for the Bengals because his talent is obvious, but it’s largely been a tease as in 96 games he could have participated in, he played in just 43. The injuries haven’t been necessarily career altering either, but they still keep him from playing. Breaking his ankle a couple times and a torn labrum, it’s not like he’s had multiple significant knee injuries and maybe his luck will change, which is where the Browns could enter the picture.

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When Eifert is on the field, he’s productive. Before suffering a broken ankle this past season, Eifert was targeted 19 times, caught 15 of them and had 179 yards and a touchdown, which is a robust 9.42 yards per target. His career average is a very solid 8.25.

If the Browns were to sign Eifert, it would follow a similar pattern as it did with Perriman and Robinson: Former first round pick? Check. Athletic prospect? Check, particularly when it comes to agility at his size. Will he come cheap? That remains to be seen, but it stands to reason he’ll get a one-year deal in 2019 and the Browns could easily pay whatever it would cost. It shouldn’t be be a significant amount.

Certainly Perriman had his own injuries with the Baltimore Ravens, which hindered his development. His injuries involved ligaments in his knees. Perriman hasn’t suffered the sheer number of injuries Eifert has, but Eifert is also a substantially more polished player.

Eifert, much like the others, should come in as almost no risk and shouldn’t be viewed as the answer any more than they were, but rather a possible contributor. Dorsey and company were smart when it came to Robinson and Perriman in that they were viewed as options as opposed to solutions. They earned their way onto the field and made the most of the opportunity. Eifert could have a similar impact with the upside of being the second tight end behind David Njoku, but obviously the risk is he gets injured and can’t do anything.

This is a deep class of tight ends this year in the NFL Draft and Eifert should not prevent them from doing anything there. If T.J. Hockenson is staring them in the face at No. 17 and they love him, they shouldn’t hesitate to take him. Eifert as your third or fourth tight end is an embarrassment of riches, especially for Freddie Kitchens, who broke into the NFL as a tight ends coach and Baker Mayfield, who has had a lot of success with tight ends, playing with the simple attitude that if a player can get open, he’ll get them the ball.

If there’s any way Eifert could get anywhere near the level of he was playing at in 2015 and then an injury shortened 2016, it would be a massive coup. The Bengals were at the peak of their powers when Eifert caught 81 passes including 18 touchdowns in 21 games. Paired with Njoku, the two could create mismatches and give Mayfield another good option to throw the football. Both can line up inline, in space or out wide and that puts a substantial amount of stress on defenses.

The Browns would be able to have a really nice group of tight ends with the possibility of a nice bonus in Eifert. Njoku came on the second half of this past year and really had a big final month while Darren Fells was a good blocker who proved to be a pleasant surprise in the passing game. Whether they keep Seth DeValve or bring in someone else to replace him, then having Eifert to round out the group gives the Browns options in how they want to attack teams as well as depth.

The Cleveland Browns have decisions to make when it comes to re-signing Greg Robinson and Breshad Perriman. If they are able to retain them and continue getting production from them, it speeds up the process for being a contender for the Browns. A player like Tyler Eifert, who has shown the ability to do that in his career already, could provide a similar boost for a team with plans on taking over the division and compete in the playoffs.