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With the halfway-point of training camp almost here, arguably the biggest Bengals training camp surprise thus far has been tight end Tyler Eifert. Though most expected him to become more involved in the offense in Year 2, the former Notre Dame star has been a favorite target of Andy Dalton.
With Jermaine Gresham out with an ailing back, Eifert has been the go-to TE, and he's made the most of his opportunity to be a featured weapon in Hue Jackson's offense. During Hue's time in Oakland, Zach Miller, Kevin Boss and Marcel Reese (FB/TE) were featured weapons in his offense. combined with Eifert's abilities, this could lead to him having a breakout year in 2014.
At 6'6", 251 pounds with a 4.68 40-yard dash, Eifert has the potential to be a terror running down the seam, and that's exactly what he's been doing in Bengals camp thus far. He's repeatedly burned defenders for huge gains just by simply running straight down the field and using his 76 7/8-inch wingspan to haul in passes.
Since training camp has opened, Eifert has been nearly unstoppable in practice. He's beating corners deep for bombs, snagging contested passes over the middle and becoming a favorite target for Andy Dalton.
Eifert simply cannot be contained by Bengals defenders, who've repeatedly allowed him to get behind them for big plays.At one point earlier in camp, Eifert caught a 90-yard TD from Dalton. In Saturday's scrimmage, Eifert opened the game with a 35-yard touchdown catch off a play-action pass. He later caught another TD running down the sideline with ease.
Dalton finds Eifert for his second long touchdown of the day https://t.co/u8zbbB5hTX
— Brennen Warner (@JustBeWarned) August 2, 2014
Though the scrimmage saw Eifert going against a group consisting of backups and starters, Eifert's progress from his rookie year is one of the biggest stories camp to this point.