Longtime Bengals’ TE Tyler Eifert had one of the best seasons in the league this decade

Aaron Schatz of ESPN calculated the decade’s best teams, offenses, defenses, and individual players at the skill positions. Using DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) and DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement), Schatz put together a list of the best (and worst) of the 2010s.

Surprisingly, the Bengals 2019 team that went 2-14 did not receive mention, despite the 2019 Dolphins being listed in the bottom five.

Also surprisingly, a Bengals player received mention as one of the best individuals.

Tyler Eifert’s 2015 season stands out as the seventh-best by a tight end in the 2010s.

Here’s what Schatz said:

7. Tyler Eifert, 2015 Bengals (247 DYAR)

Eifert has played at least 10 games for just the third time in 2019, but he’s a shadow of the player he was when he had a phenomenal 2015 season. That version of Eifert scored 13 touchdowns in just 13 games, on 52 catches for 615 yards with a 70% catch rate.

Bengals fans know that Eifert is one of he best tight ends in the league when healthy. But the problem is that he can’t stay on the field.

2019 was the first time in his career that he played all 16 games, but that can be attributed to serious load management. He has never had the number of snaps one would expect a 16-game starting tight end to have.

That was always the struggle for Bengals coaches; would they take advantage of Eifert while he was healthy and risk an injury, or would they give him a pitch count to extend his season?

2015 was his best season by far, as it was for many other Bengals. Playing in 13 games helped Eifert dominate the NFL, but even his best season was shortened due to injury. The Bengals would go on to lose in the Wild Card round of the playoffs without him in their last playoff appearance of the decade.