Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t overlook should-be TE2 Grant Calcaterra

The Philadelphia Eagles‘ offense is looking pretty darn good; they added talent at wide receiver, talent on the offensive line, and, while they didn’t procure another running back to add to their stable save UDFA Kennedy Brooks, the unit was a major part of the best rushing attack in the NFL, so there’s little use in complaining on that front.

However, there’s one position grouping that hasn’t gotten very much attention at all so far this offseason but really should: Tight end.

Yup, other than the occasional story about Dallas Goedert being very good or JJ Arcega-Whiteside making the transition to a bit closer to the line of scrimmage, Zach Ertz’s former position hasn’t gotten the love it deserves in an offseason defined by raising the Eagles’ offensive ceiling and floor.

Will the Philadelphia Eagles be able to field a competent 12 package in 2022? Or will the tight ends unit become a one-man show a la 2021? That, my friends, depends on how quickly Grant Calcaterra can acclimate to the NFL level and how well he can reconnect with his former college quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Grant Calcaterra has a golden opportunity with the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the first time in a long time, since at least 2017 and maybe even earlier, the Philadelphia Eagles have some serious talent at the top-end of their depth chart. They have an elite tight end in Dallas Goedert, a very high upside running back in Miles Sanders, and not one but two premier wide receivers who should give opposing defensive coordinators fits this fall.

That, obviously, is very good news indeed; manufacturing offense based on depth alone is a tough ask, but in sports, and especially in the NFL, teams cannot win with star power alone either. Players get injured too often, and opposing teams are too smart to get defeated by one player alone.

No, the very best teams are often the ones who have top-tier starters and back them up with an intriguing collection of reserves capable of being deployed both situationally and as plug-and-play backups.

In March, the Eagles didn’t have that player. They’d long since said goodbye to Zach Ertz, and after suffering a torn ACL back in January, counting on Tyree Jackson to fill that role isn’t particularly realistic.

But now? In June? Now the Eagles have Grant Calcaterra, a 6-foot-5, 247-pound tight end who looks like a star and has far more upside than your normal sixth-round pick.

A four-star recruit out of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Calcaterra looked like the next great tight end to play his collegiate ball at Oklahoma. Over his three-season run in Norman – the last of which came with Jalen Hurts as his quarterback – Calcaterra caught 41 passes for 637 yards and nine touchdowns over 20 games of action. Had he remained healthy, those numbers would have probably looked much better, but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be; Calcaterra suffered multiple concussions and retired from football once and for all to become a… firefighter – oh no, not again!

Fortunately, Calcaterra’s interest in fighting fires was short-lived. He got the football itch once more, and after being cleared to return to the game, he took his talents to SMU, where he had a fantastic fourth college season as the offensive focal point of the Mustangs. He nearly doubled his career receiving yards in his lone season in Texas – catching 38 balls for 465 yards and four touchdowns – and after an impressive showing at the 2022 NFL Draft Combine headlined by good times at the 40-yard dash and the 10-yard split, his upside overtook his concerns, and just like that, Calcaterra ended up an Eagle thanks to a call from Howie Roseman.

Now granted, at this point, Calcaterra isn’t a complete player. His weight ranked in the eighth percentile at the combine and his bench press reps, 20, were perfectly average, leading to questions about his ability to be an impact blocker as a rookie, but do you know what? Isn’t that what the Eagles are paying JJAW for? No, Calcaterra is going to be a weapon down the field in the vertical passing game, where his 4.62 40 time is very good for a tight end, and in the red zone, where he’ll draw far less interest than Goedert from opposing coordinators. While coordinators attempt to slow down the Eagles’ Big-3 offensive weapons, Calcaterra – and Zach Pascal, and Quez Watkins, and Kenneth Gainwell, for that matter too – will draw much easier assignments and thus, have more opportunities to shine.

If Hurts can do his best Nick Foles impression and distribute the ball like a point guard, the Eagles might really have something.

Who knows, maybe Grant Calcaterra is fool’s gold. Maybe he’ll take another shot to the head and be on the retired list before the preseason opens up, but if the collegiate Mustang Sooner can stay healthy, stay committed, and get a bit stronger in the pursuit of becoming an all-around tight end, well, the Philadelphia Eagles might really have something indeed.