13 and 21 is a huge talent gap. Eifert didn't have the resume to get picked on that pick. If he'd built on his strong junior year he'd maybe have gotten there but like several other people who decided not to come out as juniors his play declined in his senior season. It's very hard to take a TE up that high. The guys who have been drafted there or higher recently are Vernon Davis (insane athlete ran a 4.38 40 at 6'3 250 lbs after a very productive college career), Kellen Winslow (hype mistake although a good player) and Tony Gonzalez (unique template altering athlete who began the power forward to TE trend). Eifert is most similar to Winslow in that the hype got out of control due to his strong junior season and who he played for. He's a very good prospect but not somebody you take in the top half of the 1st round. Bengals slotted him almost perfectly.
Eifert was good enough for the 13th pick this season and should've been the Jets selection with that pick. The hell with measurables, the kid is going to be a very solid TE in this league. I get tired of drafting based on .40 times, size, etc. etc., I value production/fit more. Eifert was a very productive TE and a very good blocker. He is a good fit for the WCO, a great safety value when developing a young QB and also was groomed at a university that has churned out other successful players at his position in recent years... (Eifert has even more talent than those other guys) It's funny how you mention "hype" with Eifert, yet you don't criticize the hype-based pick in Richardson who was a JUCO kid that basically only played one full college season. If not for the recent hype he received he likely wouldn't have been on anyone's radar in the first round. Richardson is the definition of a hype based pick. Having said that, the Jets have to move on with the guys they got which is the premise of this thread. I don't think Cumberland is terrible but obviously TE is still a big need. It would make sense to bring in a saavy vet prior to training camp if any become available.
You don't draft people who you think are going to be very solid in the top half of the 1st round. You draft people you think are going to be stars. If Eifert had looked like he had real star power going I'm sure the Jets would have drafted him at 13. They had a need and if he was the BPA then he's a no-brainer there. When you take a TE up high you have to hit on the pick in a big way. You're already devaluing the pick by picking a position of less impact. You can't aggravate that unfortunate situation by getting a guy who is going to be just good.
The Bengals are fortunate that he fell to them. If you're going to say the talent gap between 13 and 21 is huge then one need not look much further than the case of Shariff Floyd. Most experts had him going in the top 5 based on talent. He is the classic 3 technique and ultra talented. Yet his talent wasn't commiserate with where he was drafted. He ended up sliding from a surefire top 5 pick all the way to 23. So to say that Eifert slid based on what the talent charts said isn't always the case as witnessed by Floyd and numerous others over the years. Randy Moss is the ultimate case study for this.
There's NO way I wanted to see the JETS draft a TE in the 1st rd with the current state (lack) of impact talent on this team, even if he is a prety good talent (I think he'll be a solid player) They needed foundation / identity building blocks, not final pieces to the puzzle. Besides with the way 1st rd TEs have worked out with this team, I dont want them to spend another 1st rd pick on one until Tony Gonzales's son declares:wink:
Spot on. I like Eifert and think he will be solid, but to take a tight end that high the upside has to be prime years in the range of Gronkowski/Gonzalez/Gates. I might be wrong, but I just don't see that in Eifert.
Agree with you and Brad. I think Eifert will be solid, but maybe more in the Heath Miller mode (although Miller blocks as good as anyone in the league, but you get the point). In the top 15, you look for unique talents where the later rounds have nothing comparable. There was no offensive player left on the board that i would have jumped at the 13. was just a matter of which defensive player to go for. To the OP's point though, we def still have a major need at TE. Cumberland makes waaaay too many mental mistakes for my liking, and is really a poor blocker. His receptions will go up a lot in this offense, but the Jets still need to find a roster cut or something to compete.
I disagree wholeheartedly - that's how you get in trouble as a franchise, overthinking things and passing up a player that will be good for your franchise. Not to mention this 2013 draft needs to be looked at in it's own window. There were very few "star-potential" players in general to pick from. They weren't passing up Eifert for a player like that, they passed up Eifert for a boom/bust, injury prone player at a position of strength. You can't look at Eifert based upon players drafted at his position in other years at that spot, you have to look at him based upon what is available at the time you selected only. With how the draft fell, and who was available at the time - Eifert was one of the top players left, at a position of need. Richardson might have a higher ceiling, but he has far more question marks. I'd rather have just a "good" TE for 10 years then take a risk on a guy like Richardson. (Especially when your offense is this pathetic!)
What Floyd sliding showed us was that the NFL learned from Dewayne Robertson. Floyd is a good prospect, just like D-Rob was. However he isn't the kind of guy you bet the franchise on. Eifert slid because nothing in his college career suggests he'll become a big star. He's a very good prospect but there's nothing about him that suggests that he's going to ignite an NFL offense. Vernon Davis averaged 16+ yards a catch over his junior and senior seasons. He ran a sub 4.4 40. Even then he might have been a bit over-hyped but the hype was about things that he might do that nobody had done before from TE. Tony Gonzalez was a clear transition athlete for TE's, being a tall lanky guy who also had excellent body control from his days in basketball, particularly when he was in the air. He wasn't just 6'5" he played like he was 6'8" because that's what going up for rebounds all the time does for you. It gives you a lot of practice at dominating opponents when both players feet are off the ground. Kellen Winslow II was a hype job. He had a famous father who was very well respected. He was a very serviceable player with sure hands and ok speed. He had the size. He seemed to be most of the package. What he didn't have was a resume in college that suggested that you were going to get anything more than you had already seen. He also, like Eifert, tailed off in his senior season after establishing star potential in his junior year. Eifert is a really good prospect. Nothing suggests that he is going to redefine the way we look at TE's or contribute in ways that are unusual for a TE or frankly become a star. If the Jets take Eifert on the 13 and Gronkowski stays healthy the Patriots still have by far the better player of the two.
Actually, this is the kind of thing I hated about the Tannenbaum era. Wow! Hayden was amazing! Our brilliant defense couldn't cover him and it drove Rex crazy! So we let him dress for like, five games... and he even caught a pass! We've got players like that all over our roster...
Well no crap, but Gronkowski might go down as the best TE to ever play the game if he stays healthy. That's no way to look at a draft prospect. Should the Jets have not drafted Geno Smith "because if Brady stays healthy the Patriots still have by far the best player of the two" Seems a little ridiculous to me. Eifert might not have anything to suggest that he is going to re-define the position, but neither did anyone available at the 13 this year. The only thing they can know for sure is that they would've gotten a sure fire impact starter right away. That's more than you can say for most of what was available at the time, and probably more than what you can say for Sheldon Richardson at this time.
Free Agent Tight Ends - From ( http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=77724 ) Dallas Clark Kevin Boss Kellen Winslow Todd Heap Jeremy Shockey Visanthe Shiancoe David Thomas Randy McMichael Chris Cooley Dante Rosario Clark, Boss, Winslow, Heap, Shiancoe - All these guys can help our team. I was somewhat concerned with out TE situation after the draft but between Cumberland, Smith ( hopefully picking the game up quickly ), one of those guys, and maybe picking up an UDFA gem, We should be in a pretty good spot come training camp to have "competition" at the position, Which is what Idzik is all about.
The Jets will find somebody to play TE for them this year alongside Cumberland. It's just not going to be a high-profile player who costs much on the cap or has any kind of guarantee of playing by showing up at camp. Competition. Think of players who would challenge Cumberland and co. That's who the Jets are going to bring in most likely.
Comparing any TE prospect to Gronk is a bit unfair. No one really thought Gronk would have as much impact as he's had. Otherwise he wouldve been a high first round pick as well. In terms of Eifert, i see a bit of Kyle Rudolph but with a higher receiving ceiling. Rudolph is a solid contributor to the Minn offense and a starter. I wouldn't really call him a high impact player though. What makes you think Eifert will be a sure fired impact starter as you suggest?
yeah i take all those presser hypes with a grain of salt. Hayden Smith turning into a diamond in the rough would be exactly what this team needs, and interesting on so many levels. i just wouldn't bank on it tho.. Edit** would be great if he could contribute in blocking and special teams, dressing every game this year though. that is the type of progress which would be encouraging for his future with this team.
Don't read too much into the "impact" line. I meant impact in terms of the New York Jets. Eifert would have had immediate impact on the Jets offense as a reciever or blocker. I didn't mean he'd be an immediate pro bowler or "re-define" the position like Bradway is hung up on, but there's a great chance he would have led the Jets team in catches next fall and been a good safety value in the WCO. That's just his rookie season.
"He even caught a pass!" Priceless. Like that was some monumental accomplishment. I'm glad that retard is gone.
I don't see how that quote can be viewed as a negative, especially since Tannenbaum said it in March of this year, after he was fired. The fact that Smith went from never playing football to seeing live action in the NFL in less than a year is unbelievable.
If Geno wins the job, I'd have to think that this team will take the route that Carolina Panthers took in signing veteran TE's to help the QB. Clark is valuable, Id love to have him...We just need a decent TE
