The Jaguars have signed former Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert, and it's a pairing that makes a lot of sense considering player strength and team need. Eifert, when healthy, has been one of the league's better tight ends at getting in the end zone, while Jacksonville has been the league's worst team at throwing touchdowns to those players.
Since swinging (and missing) with Julius Thomas, the Jaguars have been pretty awful at getting tight ends into the end zone. They've thrown just 4 touchdowns to tight ends the last two seasons -- worst in the league.
| TIGHT END TOUCHDOWNS, 2018-2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 18 | 19 | Tot |
| Indianapolis | 21 | 7 | 28 |
| Philadelphia | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Oakland | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Baltimore | 5 | 14 | 19 |
| Kansas City | 13 | 5 | 18 |
| Cleveland | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| Tampa Bay | 11 | 5 | 16 |
| New Orleans | 4 | 12 | 16 |
| Seattle | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| San Francisco | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Tennessee | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Houston | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Atlanta | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| NY Giants | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Dallas | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| NY Jets | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| LA Rams | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Cincinnati | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Carolina | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Green Bay | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Pittsburgh | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| LA Chargers | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Chicago | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Denver | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Washington | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Detroit | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Miami | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Buffalo | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| New England | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Arizona | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Jacksonville | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Then there's Eifert. He caught 13 touchdowns way back in 2015, but that was several years and a whole lot of injuries ago. But even in the four years since that high-water mark, he's been pretty productive in this regard. He's caught 9 TDs in 30 games. Among tight ends to play in at least 25 games in that timeframe, that's a top-12 figure.
| TIGHT END TDS, 2016-2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | TD | TD/St |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 58 | 26 | .45 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 63 | 28 | .45 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 33 | 14 | .43 |
| Hunter Henry, LAC | 41 | 17 | .42 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 31 | 13 | .42 |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 51 | 21 | .41 |
| Eric Ebron, Ind. | 56 | 23 | .41 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 64 | 25 | .40 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 34 | 12 | .36 |
| Jimmy Graham, G.B. | 63 | 21 | .34 |
| Delanie Walker, Ten. | 39 | 13 | .33 |
| Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 29 | 9 | .32 |
| Jordan Reed, Was. | 31 | 10 | .32 |
| Jared Cook, N.O. | 56 | 18 | .32 |
| Tyler Kroft, Buff. | 25 | 8 | .32 |
| O.J. Howard, T.B. | 38 | 12 | .32 |
| Darren Fells, Hou. | 32 | 10 | .31 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 51 | 16 | .31 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 31 | 9 | .29 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 53 | 15 | .28 |
| Martellus Bennett, G.B-N.E. | 25 | 7 | .28 |
| Antonio Gates, LAC | 46 | 13 | .28 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 45 | 12 | .27 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 33 | 9 | .27 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 48 | 12 | .26 |
| Trey Burton, Chi. | 41 | 10 | .25 |
| Vance McDonald, Pitt. | 51 | 12 | .24 |
| Vernon Davis, Was. | 32 | 7 | .23 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 46 | 10 | .22 |
| Garrett Celek, S.F. | 32 | 7 | .22 |
| Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 28 | 6 | .21 |
| Dion Sims, Chi. | 26 | 5 | .19 |
| Ricky Seals-Jones, Cle. | 27 | 5 | .19 |
| Marcedes Lewis, G.B. | 42 | 7 | .17 |
| Ryan Griffin, NYJ | 50 | 9 | .17 |
| Gerald Everett, LAR | 45 | 7 | .16 |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 32 | 5 | .16 |
| C.J. Uzomah, Cin. | 41 | 6 | .15 |
| Benjamin Watson, N.E. | 42 | 6 | .14 |
| Jermaine Gresham, Ariz. | 30 | 4 | .13 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 47 | 6 | .13 |
| Charles Clay, Ariz. | 56 | 7 | .13 |
| Jesse James, Det. | 64 | 8 | .13 |
| Jeff Heuerman, Den. | 25 | 3 | .12 |
| Hayden Hurst, Balt. | 28 | 3 | .11 |
| Levine Toilolo, Det. | 47 | 5 | .11 |
| Josh Hill, N.O. | 57 | 6 | .11 |
| Maxx Williams, Ariz. | 40 | 3 | .08 |
| Lance Kendricks, G.B. | 41 | 3 | .07 |
| Virgil Green, LAC | 46 | 3 | .07 |
| Jordan Akins, Hou. | 32 | 2 | .06 |
| Nick Boyle, Balt. | 47 | 2 | .05 |
Eifert needs to stay healthy, but that happened a year ago -- he played in all 16 games. Jacksonville selected Josh Oliver in the third round last season, and maybe they're hoping for some sort of tandem.
The 29-year-old won't (and shouldn't) be highly sought after in drafts, but could be a nice red-zone target for Gardner Minshew. Some potential for another good scoring season, in an offense that's sorely needed a threat at the position.
--Andy Richardson