Eagles star Dallas Goedert lands outside top five in recent tight end ranking

You have to feel good about your team’s chances when, every time you discuss the reasons why they should be competitive in the coming season, you can name about four to eight guys before you get to one of the best players at his position. The first time Dallas Goedert stepped on the field for the Philadelphia Eagles, it was clear that the Birds had something. As he enters year five of what’s been an impressive young career, expectations are high.

No longer in Zach Ertz’s shadow, Goedert enters training camp for the first time as the top tight end on Philly’s depth chart. This should be a big season for him. There’s no reason to believe that it won’t be even if he’s no longer one of the NFL’s underrated players.

Dallas Goedert, following Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, lands outside the top five on Pro Football Network’s ranking of tight ends.

In a world where sports fans already spent the majority of their free time analyzing and arguing over numbers, outlets like Pro Football Focus and NFL Next Gen Stats have catapulted that obsession through the roof. We love power rankings (even if we sometimes say that we don’t). Any chance we get to argue over how players rank when compared to one another, we take it.

Recently, Pro Football Network ranked the top 32 tight ends with the 2022-2023 NFL regular season approaching. The top five are as follows:

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
2. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
3. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
4. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
5. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders

That’s a nice list, one that’s hard to argue with.

Dallas Goedert landed behind Rob Gronkowski as they finished sixth and seventh respectively, but perhaps you’ve heard Gronk has decided it’s time for him to hang up the cleats… again. With that being said, we’ve made the executive decision to elevate Dallas to the sixth spot. You’re fine with that right?

In terms of where he’s ranked and why, here’s some of what Dallas Robinson, the writer of this one, had to say.

"After the Eagles traded Zach Ertz to the Cardinals in mid-October, Dallas Goedert became Philadelphia’s primary tight end for the first time in his career. He responded by putting up 56 catches for a career-high 830 yards and four touchdowns on a 79% snap rate.Goedert has never received more than 87 targets in a single season. While he could reach a new mark now that Ertz is gone, Goedert will have to contend with the addition of A.J. Brown, who is sure to soak up looks for Jalen Hurts, and if the Eagles continue to run the ball at the highest rate in the NFL, Goedert could be relegated to a blocking role."

It’s hard to argue with that. Here’s more from Robinson:

"When given a chance, Goedert is an outstanding pass-catching weapon. In 2021, he ranked first among tight ends in yards per route run and yards after the catch per reception (min. 50 targets). Signed to a four-year extension last November, Goedert will be part of Philadelphia’s offensive attack for seasons to come."

If you’re interested, former Eagle Zach Ertz cracked the list at eight. Rounding out the rest of the top ten is Dalton Schultz (Dallas Cowboys) and Mike Gesicki (Miami Dolphins), but again, following Grink’s retirement, we’ve taken the liberty of moving everyone up one spot. That would give Hunter Henry (New England Patriots) the tenth spot with the adjustment.

Fingers are crossed that Dallas Goedert has a huge season in year five. He should serve as a satisfactory security blanket for Jalen Hurts all season.