Of more interest was how the Eagles coach Chip Kelly lined up his tight ends against the Patriots last week, specifically Brent Celek, who played all 21 snaps.
Celek was all over the place and from four of five formations either blocked or ran pass routes. He started eight plays lined up as a halfback - at one end of the offensive line or another, a step back. Four times he started from the traditional tight end spot to the left or right of the tackle. He also lined up four times in the slot, three times split wide, and twice he started in the backfield to the left of the quarterback in the shotgun.
"In this offense, you've got to know every position, and they can just interchange you anywhere," Celek said Monday. "And it's fun. It's a new experience. You get to do different things. Guys like it."
Celek stayed in to block on 11 plays. Last season, Celek blocked around the same percentage of plays (470 of 888 snaps). As much as rookie Zach Ertz will be a part of the offense, his development as a blocker will probably keep Celek as the No. 1 tight end.
There had been some talk in Philly that Celek may actually be the odd man out with Zach Ertz, James Casey and Clay Harbor, who has been getting work with the WRs. But Ertz has struggled from the blocking aspect, something that Celek is pretty good at, and Casey didn't get any work with the first team against the Pats, so that seems unlikely right now. When healthy, the Eagles will have a capable offensive line that should limit Celek having to pass block, something he's been called on to do a lot over the last several years. Until we see more, no Eagle TE is more than a low-end TE2 option to draft right now and probably won't even get drafted in typical leagues. But Celek and Ertz certainly have some potential in this offense.
Eagles news
