It's the least flashy of the skill positions, but for the 2016 Philadelphia Eagles, the tight ends may have to carry the offense on their broad shoulders.
Big money was handed out to Zach Ertz and Brent Celek this offseason and while the former is expecting to take a leap into the pantheon of elite tight ends, the latter remains the leader of their unit. When asked about the duo yesterday, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson raved about how the pair are adjusting to the new system.
Wow, I think that [the] tight end group is one of our strong suits on offense right now," Pederson said. "Celek is the leader of that group, obviously, with his expertise. He kind of fits in that Jason Peters mold a little bit: he's a guy you want to definitely get to game day and be smart with him physically and all that. Zach Ertz is a guy that — what a talent. He's learning how to block on the line of scrimmage. He's getting stronger there. He's understanding his role, how to run routes, detail routes and things of that nature."
Last season, Ertz and Celek combined for 102 catches and 1251 yards, but just five touchdowns. Despite the staggering number of catches and yards, counting stats were expected in Chip Kelly's offense where there were more than enough touches to go around, except for DeMarco Murray.
But the Eagles have more than just two men lining up at tight end this spring. Third-year player Trey Burton remains as versatile as ever in the eyes of Pederson, but it was another name that Pederson was excited to mention during his press conference.
Trey [Burton] is a tremendous athlete and I think is a guy that we can move around a little bit offensively and create some matchups there," Pederson said. "And then Chris [Pantale] is there. Chris is there and he's a guy that is learning really a duel role. He's a little bit of fullback, he's a little bit of tight end, but he's been a pleasant surprise this offseason and I really look forward to camp and putting the pads on with all of those guys to really see where they are at physically."
The Eagles are still without a fullback and Pederson finally relented on his insistence that the Eagles will fill that position. Instead, he suggested that having these four tight ends on the roster gives him more than enough flexibility to fill that role with either Burton or Pantale.
"I have to look at it from, how much are we going to use that position?" Pederson explained. "[What’s] the value of that position, and if you've got four tight ends active on game day, that's pretty good, because one of them can be a fullback, play special teams [and] all of that comes into play."
With big question marks at running back and wide receiver, it will be up to Ertz, Celek and company to get the offense going early in the year. And if Carson Wentz is to see the field at some point, the tight ends will provide the security blanket the young signal caller may need in order to combat NFL defenses.
But as OTAs wind down today, the tight ends are just another cog in an offense trying to find it's footing. But come September, they'll be the leaders of the unit.
Tucker Bagley is a columnist for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @tbagley515.
