7 Best Tight Ends Hitting the Market this Offseason Part 2

By BetOnline February 7, 2020

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BY ADAM GREENE

We’ve got more Pro Bowlers appearing on the list as guys like that don’t often wriggle free from the teams that helped them reach those heights. We’re in for an interesting free agency period to say the least.

3. TYLER EIFERT, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT

2019: 43 catches, 436 yards, three touchdowns

Your team gets one of two outcomes if you bring in Eifert as your tight end. He’ll put up Pro Bowl-worthy numbers and play (most of) a full season or he’ll spend the year in street clothes on your sideline playing Bejeweled on a Microsoft Surface Tablet. There’s no middle ground with him.

Eifert has suited up in 16 games in his career only once, but the good news is it was last year with the Cincinnati Bengals and his numbers, though taking a dip, were still solid in spite of a 2-14 season that saw three different quarterbacks make starts.

Where he should end up: Houston Texans

The Texans are losing their starting tight end, Darren Fells, to free agency. That doesn’t mean he won’t show up on this list, but it does mean Houston probably needs to go a different way with the position. Eifert adds another scoring threat to an already potent offense (in spite of Bill O’Brien’s playcalling). Back in his last previous relatively healthy season (he played in 13 games in 2015), Eifert caught 13 touchdowns and was mentioned in the same breath as Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce. He could still be that guy and he won’t cost anywhere near as much to add to the roster.

4. ERIC EBRON, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT

2019: 31 catches, 375 yards, three touchdowns

With Jacoby Brissett as his quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts, Ebron saw a precipitous drop in both his numbers and his opportunities to create them. It didn’t help that an ankle injury ended his season in November.

With Andrew Luck hurling the ball the year before, Ebron caught 66 passes and was targeted 110 times for 750 yards and 13 touchdowns. That potential is still there.

Where he should end up: Carolina Panthers

The Colts still need Ebron, frankly, but all the signs of a final divorce were there by the time the regular season wrapped up. The Panthers and Greg Olsen have also agreed to consciously uncouple, leaving a gaping hole in their offense that Ebron could more than adequately fill.

5. GREG OLSEN, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT

2019: 52 catches, 597 yards, two touchdowns

Speaking of Olsen, he’s in the wind for the first time since 2010. And while I’m in the Deion Sanders camp that they’re letting too many guys that were just good players into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Olsen might make the cut at some point.

He’s still good, a potential Pro Bowler and isn’t ready to retire. He’s already making visits to TE needy teams.

Where he should end up: Seattle Seahawks

Olsen has reportedly met with the Seahawks, the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills in his postseason free agency tour. Of those three teams, two are legitimate contenders in 2020, but the Seahawks make the most sense. Not just for Olsen, who would fit right into what they do, but for Seattle, who has a rapidly closing Super Bowl window. They need to win now and not worry as much about developing young talent.

A future no-question first-ballot Hall of Famer makes his appearance in Part 3.