Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t sleep on contract year Dallas Goedert

By trading down from the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to the 12th, the Philadelphia Eagles effectively removed themselves from the Kyle Pitts sweepstakes.

Now granted, is there a world where the do-it-all “Super Gator” somehow sneaks past the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Carolina Panthers to remain on the board when Howie Roseman and company go on the clock? Technically speaking, yes, but realistically speaking, any chances of bringing the Archbishop Wood grad back home are pretty much done.

*sigh* Trust the Process, am I right?

But hey, don’t be too down that the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t able to land one of the best tight ends in recent memory, as they already have a pretty gosh darn good one in Dallas Goedert who should be fired up to prove his worth in this a contract year.

Dallas Goedert’s contract status is a win-win for the Philadelphia Eagles.

More from Section 215

After well over a half-decade of dominance from number 86, 2020 felt like the year Dallas Goedert was going to finally establish himself as the Philadelphia Eagles‘ next great tight end.

Despite his FCS pedigree, Goedert was the third tight end selected in his draft class – a selection notable for Howie Roseman’s sheer pettiness – and has since gone on to outperform every player drafted at his position on a per-game basis besides Mark Andrews through his first three NFL seasons – amassing 137 catches for 1,465 yards and 12 touchdowns over the past three seasons.

Goedert is a plus catcher, a decent enough blocker, and at 6-foot-5, 256 pounds, is perfectly built to be a high-volume target across the middle of the field for a young quarterback still processing the speed of the NFL game.

Fun fact: Did you know Zach Ertz is still a member of the Philadelphia Eagles? Interesting stuff.

So, I ask semi-rhetorically, why aren’t fans hyped on the start of the “Dallas Goedert-era” in South Philly?

Now granted, Goedert isn’t heading into the 2021 NFL season under the most opportune of circumstances. He’s set to learn a new offensive system that wasn’t particularly tight end centric over the last few seasons, is coming off of an early-season ankle injury, and only has three and a half games of experience playing alongside new quarterback Jalen Hurts – none of which were particularly impressive showings from a statistical perspective.

But still, do people somehow not see Goedert turning in his best season as a pro during the forthcoming season, especially when you consider he’s yet to earn an extension heading into his contract year? Based on how the Eagles have valued tight ends in the past, that feels like a borderline lock.

Through the first eight seasons of his career, Zach Ertz averaged 7.15 targets per game while largely serving as the Eagles’ tight end one paired up with Brent Celek, Trey Burton, or eventually Goedert. Ertz parlayed those targets into 51.9 yards per game and delivered onto the Eagles their first 1,000-yard season since Jeremy Maclin accomplished the feat in 2014.

Do you know how many times Goedert has been targeted seven-plus times in his career with the Eagles? 11 times in the regular season and 12 overall if you count the playoffs.

While Goedert could conceivably see his targets dip a tad below what Ertz averaged under Pederson, as Nick Sirianni only had one tight end record a 100 target season during his three-year tenure as the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator – Eric Ebron in 2018 – the 26-year-old South Dakotan is currently the Eagles’ most tenured pass catcher and thus should remain a prominent part of the offense – assuming, of course, Ertz is eventually either traded or released.

Factor in the Colts’ pension for deploying their players out of exotic looks to capitalize on coverage mismatches during Sirianni’s tenure in Indianapolis, and there’s a chance we could see Goedert moonlight as the Eagles’ version of Kyle Juszczyk – a do-it-all fullback/tight end/occasional running back who is built to pick apart opposing defenses – that is, when he’s not serving as the Eagles’ answer to George Kittle.

And hey, just because Kyle Pitts will surely be off the board when the Eagles go on the clock at 12 doesn’t mean the team won’t still be in the market to select a tight end with one (or more) of their 11 draft weekend selections, maybe even a player like Pat Freiermuth, Brevin Jordan, or Tommy Tremble with one of their four Day 2 picks. That would give the team leverage if Goedert wants to play hardball in contract negotiations, a viable number two to keep the 12 personnel package strong, and a backup plan if number 88 fails to fit into Sirianni’s offense.

Either way, it feels rather unlikely that the Eagles are finished making moves in their tight ends room because, again, Ertz is still technically on the team.

Next. 3 cornerbacks worth snagging in the second round. dark

Is Dallas Goedert Kyle Pitts? No. He isn’t as fast, wasn’t as lauded coming out of college, and lacks the versatility to play X wide receiver full time – not that any team would actually do that with Pitts, but I digress. But assuming he enters the season as the Philadelphia Eagles’ tight end number one, there’s a lot of reasons to be excited about Goedert’s role in Nick Sirianni’s offense, as he very well could be the team’s top target regardless of who they approach with the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Fantasy football owners, take note.

Home/Philadelphia Eagles