2020 will be a huge year for Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.
For Philadelphia Eagles fans, it looks like there will be NFL football after all. There may not be any fans there. We aren’t completely certain of what games will look like, but as of right now, the 2020 season is set to go on as scheduled. That alone is a reason to celebrate. Roster battles will be the topic of conversation throughout camp, and though the word “competition” will be thrown around a lot, Philly’s star tight ends, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are assured of a roster spot.
Here’s a bold statement. This Eagles roster is home to two of the top ten tight ends in the game today.
Poll most NFL pundits about who the best tight ends in the game are, and here’s what you’re going to hear. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is the standard. George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers sits right behind him. Zach Ertz is the third-best tight end in the game today.
Here’s something that gets tossed around a lot even though, at times, it can be difficult to remember who said it first. Though Philly likes to employ a lot of two-tight end formations (also known as 12 personnel) in situations where they only keep one tight end on the field, coaches have reached a level of trust with Goedert where they believe both he and Ertz can be interchanged in the lineup without seeing any dropoff in offensive production.
For Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, the eyeball test and numbers say it all.
He may not be seen in the Kelce, Kittle, and Ertz class yet, but he’s definitely in the class of the next tier. Most would round their top ten of the game’s best tight ends with names like O.J. Howard, Evan Engram, Eric Ebron, Hunter Henry, Jared Cook, T.J. Hockenson, and Chris Herndon. In 2019, Goedert had more catches than all of those guys. We do have to mention that Herndon was injured, but Goedert also had more receiving yards than everyone on that list minus Cook and Henry. He also contributed five touchdowns to the Eagles cause in 2019.
People always bring up the numbers in this type of conversation, and when you look at the numbers, Goedert is definitely in the class of the top ten tight ends in the game.
As we near 2020’s regular season, much is expected of both Goedert and Ertz. For the former, two more years remain on his rookie deal. For the latter, thanks to his option being exercised earlier this offseason, these two will be in the fold through the end of the 2021 season. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where both receive max deals when the time to extend them comes. We may even see the end of Ertz’s run in Philadelphia at that time, but there’s no reason to worry about that right now.
There will be some interesting roster battles during Eagles camp, but don’t expect to hear Goedert’s or Ertz’s name in any of those conversations. Their positions on the 53-man roster are secure. Philly’s set with not one but two of the top ten tight ends in the game today.