2013 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame

Wednesday Todd McShay of ESPN released a mock draft and pegged Tyler Eifert as the first round pick for the New York Giants and even though the pick is unpopular here Eifert is a player worth looking at because the possibility exists that Eifert, who is considered a consensus first-round pick, could be a Giant next year.

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Pros

Good size at 6-foot-6, 251 pounds. Eifert is terrific at pin-pointing the football at its highest point and coming down with it, which makes him an excellent red-zone option in the NFL. He's very good catching the football in traffic and will catch the football even when he's going to take a big hit. There were some concerns about his athleticism, but he put those to rest at the combine, where he was top performer at every single drill in the tight end group, showcasing terrific athleticism. A good route runner. Eifert was very productive at Notre Dame, and is a high character guy who gives his all as a receiver and blocker. He has great hands.

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Cons

A willing blocker with good length to be a very good blocker, but he is just not there yet. He has good speed for his size, but he doesn't have great straight line speed.

Player comparison: Greg Olsen (NFl.com), Kyle Rudolph (a number of places); Todd Heap (me)

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Does He Fit With The Giants?

Yeah, I think he's a good fit for the Giants. He's not a great blocker now, but here's something that most people don't tell you: very few top rookie tight ends enter the league knowing how to block effectively at the NFL level.

Prospect Video

Big Board Rankings

CBS Sports-23rd

National Football Post-29th

Mocking the Draft-16th

Sports Illustrated-29th

Big Blue View Board-36th (but moving up)

Final Thought

After watching more Eifert I'm less lukewarm on him than I was before, and he'll likely be entering the top 32 on my next big board projection. I prefer him a lot to Coby Fleener last year. Eifert was more athletic than I thought he would be at the combine, and he's a better blocker than I had previously given him credit for; he is not a great blocker now, but he's a hard worker and I think he'll get there. I think the Giants will go a different direction than Eifert at 19, but you can see the appeal, especially with his ability to win jump balls and make plays in traffic -- that's what separates him from many tight end prospects.