With injury prone but absolute Bengal to the core Tyler Eifert leaving the picture does Cincy need to immediately replace him? Uzomah has proven to be a more than serviceable tight end amassing 439 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns is the 2018 season but it is fair to say he is no super star. Tyler Kroft is still in the picture as well but neither of these two tight ends are not going to light up the score board. Should the Bengals go out and seek a free agent or wait until the draft and try to pick up a young gun?
One player that is available is now former Patriot Dwayne Allen. Allen would probably be a better option than Kroft or Uzomah. He is only 29 years old so he isn't ready to be taken out to pasture yet and is pretty athletic. His first year in the league he had over 500 yards receiving. He hasn't touched that since but hell there is potential. He spent five years with Indy before hitting the Patriots roster. He missed three games last year do to minor knee issues but nothing can be worse than Eifert's annual season ending injury. It would be interesting if the Bengals were active in the free agent market as it deviates from the norm here in Cincinnati.
We could also seek our answer to the tight end conundrum in the NFL Draft. It is always nice to get young talent....as long as that young talent pans out. Unlike our current offensive line situation or John Ross some would argue. The draft however looks to have some talent in it though. Below we will list a few options for Cincy at the tight end position.
TJ Hockenson, Iowa #38
TJ Hockenson Will most likely be the first tight end selected in the 2019 NFL draft. He is big, fast and athletic.
Hockenson was a surprise early-entry to the Draft. . While sharing the Iowa field with Noah Fant in 2018, Hockenson amassed 49 receptions for 760 yards with six touchdowns. He has great NFL size and showed an impressive ability to catch and hold onto the ball in the 2018 season. To go along with being a receiving weapon to just toy with linbackers, Hockenson is a strong blocker who should quickly develop into a three-down starter in the NFL.
Caleb Wilson, UCLA #81
Caleb Wilson nabbed 60 catches for over 950 yards and four touchdowns last season. He was a late addition to the Senior Bowl but did not really play all that well. #81 will need to ad some meat to his lower body if he wants to joing the big boys and be 100% successful in the NFL. Blocking could potentially be an issue.
Wilson was a stud in the 2017 season however. He was a reliable receiving threat for Josh Rosen who know leads the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to a season-ending foot injury, Wilson had nearly 40 recepctions and 500 yards.. He was instrumental in the crazy come from behind win over Texas A&M, grabbing 15 receptions and 208 yards. Thats out of this world for a tight end. Wilson is a quick footed tight end who runs great routes. He is dangerous as a run-after-the-catch threat. If he hit the squat rack he could be a force for the Cincinnati Offense.
Jace Sternberger, Texas A&M #81
Jace (fun name to say) is another early-entry for the 2019 NFL Draft. #81 had a killer 2018 season for the Aggies that would have been tough to duplicate if he had returned for his senior year. He brought together nearly 50 receptions for 832 yards and 10 flippin touchdowns. He did not play in the 2017 season after transferring from Kansas to the Texas A&M squad.
at 6"4 250 lbs he is a big boy. Sternberger could be a weapon to fill the lack of catching ability in our current TE situation. Not to say our current are not serviceable but that is really all they are...serviceable. I could see Sternberger coming in and making an immediate splash with his size and ability to grab the ball out of the air.
So the above listed are our favorites for the job. There are more in the draft and who knows if they will even decide to replace Eifert with a newbie or just stick with what we have got. Either way Tyler will be missed...not his injuries but his play. All in all it would be nice to have the next Travis Kelce but like we said, our current roster of tight ends are serviceable.
WHODEY
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