The Cincinnati Bengals took tight end Tyler Eifert with the 21st pick in the 2013 NFL draft – just 3 picks after the 49ers took safety Eric Reid. Some people figured that Eifert, part of the Notre Dame team that went to the BCS National Championship this past season, would be a perfect fit for the Niners and their tight end-heavy offense, but Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh decided to take Eric Reid instead.

Did they miss out?

The 49ers currently have five tight ends with Vernon Davis as the #1. But with Delanie Walker’s departure, the #2 TE position is definitely up in the air. The 49ers addressed this by drafting Rice TE Vance McDonald. McDonald played a lot in the slot position during college and led the team in catches in 2010 with 28 receptions for 398 yards. He has shown good hands and can make plays in traffic, which is important with the way that the 49ers offense likes to run. He’s a big tight end that has shown good ability to push off defenders and get open.

Tyler Eifert has shown the ability to do all that as well, and he did put up the best stats in every category at the combine. He was the Fighting Irish’s main receiving threat last season and has shown strengths in every category that McDonald does. He is a fluid pass-catcher and has shown the ability to get open and make plays, which is always important.

But the 49ers already have a lot of people who can catch the ball. With a robust receiving corps consisting of Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Mario Manningham, Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins and Ricardo Lockette, plus newcomer Quinton Patton, not to mention TE Vernon Davis, QB Colin Kaepernick is going to have a lot of options to throw the ball to. Does he really need one more?

Sure, Eifert is great. He will make a fine addition to the Bengals’ offense and could conceivably give them the edge they need (in addition to some of their other additions on both sides of the ball) to make it past the Wild Card round next year. But the Niners just didn’t need him. He was a luxury, one that we probably could have afforded, but Trent Baalke opted instead to choose Eric Reid and help bolster the secondary, which was the better move in my opinion.

With Dashon Goldson off to the Bucs and not much depth at the safety position, the 49ers needed to draft someone who could come in and establish himself as a starter right off the bat. Passing up a surefire starter like Eric Reid for a #2 tight end would have been a bad move by the 49ers, who’s 2013 draft is considered one of their strongest in quite some time. Eifert could have easily come in and started, sure, but the 49ers offense is not their weakness right now, ironically – it’s the defense that had problems late last year. Eifert could have come in and been a solid contributor, but McDonald can do that as well. He fills the void left by Delanie Walker and will fit in nicely with Kap and the rest of the 49er offense.

So…did we miss out on Eifert? I don’t think so, no. Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh knew what they needed to get out of this year’s draft, and I think it’s safe to say they did just that. Eric Reid is a strong player who can and most likely will make a major impact in Vic Fangio’s vaunted defense. Tyler Eifert is a great player, but to take him first round and forego one of the best safeties in the draft would have been a bad move, overall.