Will Eagles’ Dallas Goedert emerge out of Zach Ertz’s shadow in Year 3? Tight end breakdown

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Will Eagles’ Dallas Goedert emerge out of Zach Ertz’s shadow in Year 3? Tight end breakdown

 

The entire Eagles roster is expected to return to the NovaCare Complex on July 28 for the start of training camp.

While the Eagles have one of the deepest rosters in the league, the bottom of the depth chart remains unsettled. The team will host several roster battles during training camp, and with a limited practice schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be little margin for error for the players on the bubble.

In the days leading up to training camp, NJ Advance Media will take a closer look at each position group to break down the locks, the bubble players and the long shots on the offseason roster.

Our series continues with the tight end position.

PREVIOUS BREAKDOWNS: QB | RB

The Locks: Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert

Ertz has led the Eagles in receptions and receiving yards throughout the Doug Pederson era. While he has his critics, Ertz has been the most consistent player on the Eagles’ offense over the past three seasons. The Pro Bowl tight end is always open, which has forced quarterback Carson Wentz to rely on him heavily in the passing game. When all else fails, Ertz is a reliable set of hands. While he won’t get a lot of yards after the catch or ever be the most reliable blocker, Ertz can be depended on to make plays that move the chains and lead to points.

Goedert, the team’s 2018 second-round pick, has flashed regularly over the past two seasons. While he is behind Ertz in the pecking order, Goedert has shown the ability to make big plays in the passing game. He has also emerged as a tremendous blocker, a trait that should lend itself to a steady boost in playing time as his career progresses, even with Ertz still in the fold.

On The Bubble: Josh Perkins, Noah Togiai

The Eagles waived Alex Ellis last week, creating a four-man position room heading into training camp. Perkins, who has been with the team for two seasons, is the heavy favorite to retain the No. 3 tight end job. His versatility is a notable trait for the Eagles, as Perkins can line up at wide receiver and tight end. Down the stretch of last season, Perkins was used in a hybrid role on offense, which enabled him to see the field more consistently. If the veteran can put together a strong camp, he should be on the main roster this season.

Togiai is an intriguing dark horse entering training camp. The undrafted rookie was a two-sport athlete at Oregon State, and he was heavily recruited as a basketball player. Togiai’s basketball background is common at the tight end position, and he is looking to follow in the footsteps of players like Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham. While those aren’t natural comparisons for the rookie, the truth is he has the athletic upside to steal a spot from Perkins this season.

Biggest Question Entering Camp: Will Dallas Goedert emerge as a star in Year 3?

Goedert’s progression in the pros has been fun to watch. The South Dakota State alum had his moments as a rookie, but he really grew in Year 2, as both a receiver and a blocker. Now entering his third season, Goedert is expected to climb another rung in his development.

The Eagles favor two-tight end sets, as they can use both Ertz and Goedert in concert. However, at some point, Goedert may need to be used in solo duty in order to expand his game. With the Eagles focusing on speed on the outside at wide receiver, Goedert’s versatility as a blocker and receiver should allow him the opportunity to see the field more often.

Goedert will be eligible for a contract extension next offseason, so the Eagles will need to figure out their future tight end dynamic pretty soon. If Goedert continues to grow, can the Eagles afford to keep both him and Ertz on the roster? The answer to that question is murky, especially with the team’s impending cap woes.

https://www.nj.com/eagles/2020/07/eagles-tight-end-breakdown-will-dallas-goedert-emerge-out-of-zach-ertzs-shadow-in-year-3.html

I think in the last 6 or 10 games last year (can't remember which it was) Goedert virtually matched Ertz in terms of stats. This could be the year he perhaps even jumps out slightly ahead. 

[DeathByEagle]

Im not concerned on if the Eagles can afford Etrz and Goedert. Im more concerned on will Goedert refuse to sign with the Eagles if Ertz is still here? Goedert like any player wants to be the starter and with his talent he is right. He will get the money from any team making the offer. So if your Goedert do you stay with the Eagles to be a backup or go to another team for the same money to be the starter? BTW his favorite team growing up, who he was named after needs a TE. 

Within the next two years Ertz needs to be gone(trade or no extension) and Goedert needs to be the starter. I love Ertz, I do but is he worth keeping over the future? As Howie said last year, You need to know when to let go of players. Even those who have been great Eagles. 

[EricAllenPick6]

7 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Within the next two years Ertz needs to be gone(trade or no extension) and Goedert needs to be the starter. I love Ertz, I do but is he worth keeping over the future? As Howie said last year, You need to know when to let go of players. Even those who have been great Eagles. 

Totally agree.  I think this season we should take a long hard look at whether Goedert can replace Ertz.  If he can, the time to do is sooner rather than later.  Trading Ertz after the season could get us a nice pick and lock Goedert up as our TE of the future.  I'm sure we could get a very good pick for Ertz, possibly to a contender that lacks a good TE.  

[jsb235]

2 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Im not concerned on if the Eagles can afford Etrz and Goedert. Im more concerned on will Goedert refuse to sign with the Eagles if Ertz is still here? Goedert like any player wants to be the starter and with his talent he is right.

I don't think Goedert is a backup here. He was just outside the top 10 in targets per game for tight ends, so he's getting the same amount of looks he would anywhere else.

I think Ertz becomes expendable if Reagor and JJAW live up to their draft status, or if the team hits on one of the other speed wrs. I agree that signing Goedert to a long-term deal is the number one priority at the position. But if the young wrs struggle, the team won't have much of a choice other than to pay Ertz. 

    

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 hours ago, jsb235 said:

I think Ertz becomes expendable if Reagor and JJAW live up to their draft status, or if the team hits on one of the other speed wrs. I agree that signing Goedert to a long-term deal is the number one priority at the position. But if the young wrs struggle, the team won't have much of a choice other than to pay Ertz. 

Do you think that in part the reason they haven't truly gone 12 personnel focused is because long term that isn't their intention and they will move on from Ertz? I mean I know they are heavier 12 personnel than any other team but it hasn't quite been the truly dominant scheme that we all thought. 

[hputenis]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Do you think that in part the reason they haven't truly gone 12 personnel focused is because long term that isn't their intention and they will move on from Ertz? I mean I know they are heavier 12 personnel than any other team but it hasn't quite been the truly dominant scheme that we all thought. 

I doubt it, but I guess we'll never know.  I honestly think they utilized 12 personnel to begin with was just to get both Ertz and Goedert on the field.  That's too much talent to leave on the sideline.  However, it doesn't work well when there's no speed on the field.  When Desean went down, the offense completely lacked spacing since nobody had the ability to go deep, and Goedert and Ertz STILL were able to produce at a very high level.  Imagine if Reagor works out and/or Desean is healthy?  Goedert and Ertz will have a field day.  It should be fun to watch.

With that being said, I don't know how you can keep both on the roster after this year.  I'd prefer they move on from Ertz and give Goedert the contract extension.    

[time2rock]

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Do you think that in part the reason they haven't truly gone 12 personnel focused is because long term that isn't their intention and they will move on from Ertz? I mean I know they are heavier 12 personnel than any other team but it hasn't quite been the truly dominant scheme that we all thought. 

Defenses knew to focus on stopping the TEs since the WRs were a mess.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

52 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Defenses knew to focus on stopping the TEs since the WRs were a mess.  

That's true and fair... let's hope for more this year. 

[jsb235]

3 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Do you think that in part the reason they haven't truly gone 12 personnel focused is because long term that isn't their intention and they will move on from Ertz? I mean I know they are heavier 12 personnel than any other team but it hasn't quite been the truly dominant scheme that we all thought. 

We had a debate about this in the news thread, but my personal opinion is that the Eagles want to play a hybrid offense, featuring two big and two fast receivers. So the ideal lineup would be Ertz, Goedert, DJax and Reagor with Perkins, JJAW and Togiai as the backup bigs and Goodwin, Hightower and Ward as the backup fast guys (Ward doesn't really fit either category, so I think ideally the team would like someone like Watkins to win his spot. But he did play well last year in this type of offense as one of the "fast" guys.)

I think our offense hasn't functioned well over the past two seasons because we relied too much on too many things going right. In 2018, I think the expectation was that Agholor was going to step up and give us a legit deep threat. And when that didn't happen things got bogged down. And then last year DJax getting hurt left us again without a legit deep threat.

I like how our offense is shaping up this year. I think we have depth at every spot, so one injury isn't going to derail us. Obviously a lot is riding on Reagor, and to a lesser extent Hightower (and Watkins, and Bailey and Goodwin), but at least Reagor has a defined role in this offense. I also think JJAW now has a defined role as well. I don't think that was true with JJAW last year, as they moved him around quite a bit.    

[eggs]

As I’ve said before we should have traded ertz for a first and more last offeseason. Next year, we will get less and should trade him so goeddert can be oir star for the next 6-7 years. 

[DeathByEagle]

10 hours ago, eggs said:

As I’ve said before we should have traded ertz for a first and more last offeseason. Next year, we will get less and should trade him so goeddert can be oir star for the next 6-7 years. 

You're not getting a first-rounder for Zach ertz at his age. You have to look at the track record for tight end trades. His value right now would be a second-round pick.

[QBhunter58]

On 7/24/2020 at 9:15 AM, DeathByEagle said:

Im not concerned on if the Eagles can afford Etrz and Goedert. Im more concerned on will Goedert refuse to sign with the Eagles if Ertz is still here? Goedert like any player wants to be the starter and with his talent he is right. He will get the money from any team making the offer. So if your Goedert do you stay with the Eagles to be a backup or go to another team for the same money to be the starter? BTW his favorite team growing up, who he was named after needs a TE. 

Within the next two years Ertz needs to be gone(trade or no extension) and Goedert needs to be the starter. I love Ertz, I do but is he worth keeping over the future? As Howie said last year, You need to know when to let go of players. Even those who have been great Eagles. 

if i am howie Ertz is already gone this off season.

[PoconoDon]

2 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

You're not getting a first-rounder for Zach ertz at his age. You have to look at the track record for tight end trades. His value right now would be a second-round pick.

Historically, there's another way to get it done if you're the Eagles. That's a delayed payment of a 1st rounder 2 or 3 years out (2022 or 2023)? To the right team, that's still very likely a top 10-15 pick, or better for the birds. GM's often accept those trades because they get extra help now (making the team better) and don't know if they'll even be around when the bill comes due. For Howie, who seems to have a lifetime contract here, a little patience could pay huge dividends down the road.