: Zach Ertz
A tight end has to have a total skill set in this offen...
A tight end has to have a total skill set in this offense. And the Eagles have three of them and the coaching has taken the best of what each player does to create a promising symmetry that is as central to the scheme as any personnel grouping.
Brent Celek is the veteran force, the ultra-tough guy who someday will go down as one of the best in franchise history. He's worked so hard over the years to make himself a strong blocker to help in the running game and in pass protection, and at the same time continues to find cracks and crevices in defensive coverage to make himself a reliable target for quarterback Nick Foles.
Of the three, Celek is the most "traditional" tight end for a position that has morphed over the years. Today's tight end is more defined as a receiver proportioned to tower over defensive backs and to run past linebackers. Celek is 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds and he is still capable of big gains, but in his eighth season Celek is properly called a "move-the-chains pass catcher."
The Birds also have Zach Ertz and James Casey. Casey was mostly invisible last season and will still be behind Celek and Ertz this year. While Ertz is getting most of the attention in terms of fantasy value, Celek can't be forgotten and it's very possible he continues to be a factor in the offense. This could limit Ertz's potential again this year. But Ertz has six catches for 86 yards so far in preseason games and still looks poised to have a big year. Of the two, Ertz is the guy to target, at least leading into the season
If anyone is qualified to make an expert judgment on tight ends, it’s Patriots linebackers and defensive backs, and both agree Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is primed for a breakout season.
“He’s a good player. He’s a great player,” defensive end/outside linebacker Chandler Jones, a 2012 first-round pick, said. “He’s very athletic. He’s faster than I thought. I feel like he’s more of a skill player than anything. He runs his routes very well. I’ve had the opportunity to cover him for these two days of practice, and he’s been a handful.”
Ertz even shined in a rare joint walkthrough that featured a round of red-zone 7-on-7s in pads. With the second-string offense, Mark Sanchez connected with Ertz on three straight touchdowns, each tightly covered and with Ertz using his size or an elusive move to create separation.
“He’s a good tight end, an athletic guy, stretches the field,” Pro Bowl safety Devin McCourty said. “Really, I think, understands how to get open against good defenses. That’s always good work when you can go against good tight ends. They have a bunch of them. At the safety position we got some pretty good work going against them the past two days.”
Snaps are the only real thing standing in Ertz's way. He is still behind Brent Celek since Celek is a better blocker, but Ertz will make his presence felt in the passing game. He has top 5 potential if he can work his way into starter's snaps.
Of the Eagles’ pass catchers, Zach Ertz made the biggest impression during three scrimmages with the Patriots this week.
Most of the tight end’s work came against the second team defense. But when the Eagles went with two or three tight-end sets against New England’s starters, Ertz got open nearly as much.
His play through all of training camp -- which ended with Thursday’s light practice -- and the first preseason game has suggested that Ertz needs to see more time with the first team.
But whether Eagles coach Chip Kelly needs to see improvement in the second-year tight end’s blocking, or he doesn’t yet want to promote him over veteran Brent Celek, or he’s waiting to unveil an offense that is heavy with two tight ends, Ertz will have to wait.
This is our primary concern with Ertz -- playing time. He averaged 2.8-32-.56 over the final nine games of the season (including the Eagles' sole playoff game) and that included two goose eggs in Week 10 and Week 14. That equates to 6.6 fantasy points per game, which is what Martellus Bennett averaged as the #10 TE in fantasy football. With Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson gone, Ertz could play a lot in the slot, though the arrival of WR Jordan Matthews may limit Ertz’s snaps there. If he can take a step forward in the blocking department, it will help his overall fantasy outlook.
Eagles TE Zach Ertz had a very good day, as the Patriots defense struggled sticking with him. Want to cover Ertz with a linebacker? Good luck. Want to go nickel when Ertz is in there? Prepare to get pounded with the run. The Eagles have three players who can be mismatch nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators: LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, and Ertz.
Ertz averaged 2.8-32-.56 over the final nine games of the season (including the Eagles' sole playoff game) and that included two goose eggs in Week 10 and Week 14. That equates to 6.6 fantasy points per game, which is what Martellus Bennett averaged as the #10 TE in fantasy football. With Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson gone, Ertz could play a lot in the slot, though the arrival of WR Jordan Matthews may limit Ertz’s snaps there. For Ertz to break out in 2014, he needs to play more snaps.
Bengals TE Tyler Eifert...
Beat writers Paul Dehner and Richard Skinner are "both big believers in the Eifert's second-year bump." Dehner is predicting "700 yards, 5-7 TDs."
Beat writers are typically high on their projections, but 700 yards and five touchdowns equates to 100 standard fantasy points, which is what we currently project Zach Ertz to score as the #12 TE. This would make Eifert a tremendous value in the 14th round. The former first round pick has to play more than the 63% of snaps that he played as a rookie to have that type of production.
Eagles TE Zach Ertz played in 41 percent of the team's offensive snaps - 450 out of 1,104 - as a rookie in 2013. He played an additional 23 snaps (out of 58) in the playoffs. Pegged as an ascending player, will Ertz be on the field more in his second seasons? Ertz's improvement as a blocker will help dictate that.
"I think Ertz is a guy defenses (watch) - now you start adding the down and distance to it. You put Ertz in the game with (Brent) Celek, and we tighten him down. I think he's improved as a blocker on first down," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. "But if you put Ertz in the game on second and third down maybe where it's more of a pass-first type scenario to the defense for whatever reason, then we can spread out Ertz. Now you have to decide are you going to cover him with a linebacker or are you going to commit to putting maybe a third defensive back in the game?"
Ertz averaged 2.8-32-.56 over the final nine games of the season (including the Eagles' sole playoff game) and that included two goose eggs in Week 10 and Week 14. That equates to 6.6 fantasy points per game, which is what Martellus Bennett averaged as the #10 TE in fantasy football. With Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson gone, Ertz could play a lot in the slot, though the arrival of WR Jordan Matthews may limit Ertz’s snaps there. If he can take a step forward in the blocking department, it will help his overall fantasy outlook.
Eagles beat writer Sheil Kapadia...
TE Zach Ertz had a strong day. It would not surprise me one bit if he led the Eagles in touchdown receptions this season. He's going to be a tough matchup in the red zone.
On one play, Foles slings a bullet high to Ertz in the middle of the end zone. He stretches his arms up high and makes a beautiful hands catch above his head. Among all the Eagles pass-catchers, Ertz is the best at making contested grabs.
Ertz averaged 2.8-32-.56 over the final nine games of the season (including the Eagles' sole playoff game) and that included two goose eggs in Week 10 and Week 14. That equates to 6.6 fantasy points per game, which is what Martellus Bennett averaged as the #10 TE in fantasy football. With Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson gone, Ertz could play a lot in the slot, though the arrival of WR Jordan Matthews may limit Ertz’s snaps there. It sounds as if the team plans to use him heavily in the red zone, however.
One common theory regarding Eagles WR Riley Cooper is t...
One common theory regarding Eagles WR Riley Cooper is that much of his success in 2013 was made possible because of the attention DeSean Jackson received on the other side. Some are skeptical whether Cooper will be able to post similar numbers this season now that Jackson resides in D.C.
What can't be denied is that Cooper -- who ended with 47 catches for 835 yards and eight touchdowns last year -- found himself in a whole bunch of one-on-one situations, which certainly helped his cause. According to second-year tight end Zach Ertz, that's unlikely to change this year even without Jackson on the team. That's because the man truly responsible for the single coverage is still on the roster.
"I think the culprit, why a lot of guys see single coverage on this team, is LeSean [McCoy]," said Ertz. "He's the key cog in this offense... Defenses have to stop LeSean first to try and stop this offense."
The players aren't buying into the notion Jackson opened things up for Cooper, going as far as saying that's not now the league works. HC Chip Kelly added that he thought most teams played the Eagles in single high coverage and man across the board on anybody, and no one was getting any help. Either way, there are a lot of questions about Cooper duplicating his success from last season. Perhaps more noteworthy is Cooper's success with Nick Foles at QB compared to Mike Vick. With so many targets on the Eagles, we still only rank Cooper 50th on our WR list.
Brent Celek is the starter and that's not expected to change this year. In a way, Celek and Zach Ertz are playing two different positions. Kelly explained that Ertz [as well as James Casey] is being used as a "move" tight end in this offense. That is similar to the way Aaron Hernandez was deployed in New England -- as more of a "Joker" that lines up in various spots and is used primarily as a pass-catcher. Celek is more of the traditional "in-line" tight end where blocking is a bigger priority.
Celek could very well end up with more snaps, but that doesn't mean that Ertz won't be featured prominently.
Ertz averaged 2.8-32-.56 over the final nine games of the season (including the Eagles' sole playoff game) and that included two goose eggs in Week 10 and Week 14. That equates to 6.6 fantasy points per game, which is what Martellus Bennett averaged as the #10 TE in fantasy football. With Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson gone, Ertz could play a lot in the slot, though the arrival of WR Jordan Matthews may limit Ertz’s snaps there.
Philly Mag's Sheil Kapadia...
The pressing question: Will Chip Kelly lighten LeSean McCoy’s workload?
On his way to setting the franchise record for rushing yards, McCoy led the NFL in carries (314) and touches (366). Only Chicago's Matt Forte played more snaps. The Eagles added Darren Sproles in the offseason. Does that mean they want to give McCoy more of a breather in 2014?
The answer, as I see it, is no. McCoy often mentions how his running style lends itself to fewer big hits, and the numbers suggest there could be something to that. In the Eagles' final four regular season games, he piled up 519 yards and averaged 6.3 YPC. In the fourth quarters of games, he led the NFL with 441 yards and averaged 6.0 YPC, according to STATS, Inc. In other words, there were no signs that his production took a hit because of the heavy workload.
McCoy is only 26 years old and the focal point of the Eagles' offense. Matching last year's number of touches would be no surprise. Assuming health, he's as close to a lock as there is to finish as one of the top three rushers in the NFL.
Due to the arrival of Darren Sproles and Jordan Matthews, and the expected emergence of Zach Ertz, we would be surprised if the Eagles didn't lighten McCoy's workload a bit. We currently have him projected for 337 touches, which represents an 8 percent drop in touches. He's still a top 3 RB in both PPR and standard formats.
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