Philadelphia Eagles: Tight ends should open up offense

The Philadelphia Eagles have three tight ends that should open up the offense in 2017.

If you had to pick the strongest position on the Philadelphia Eagles roster heading into 2017 outside of quarterback, tight end has a valid argument. Philly will keep three tight ends this year, and all three will have a significant role. Having those three tight ends will be beneficial for second-year quarterback Carson Wentz.

A tight end to a quarterback is what a dog is to a man: his best friend. Luckily for Wentz, he will have three best friends he can depend on, but all three bring something different to the table. No. 1 on the depth chart is the fifth-year tight end, Zach Ertz. After Ertz, it will be interesting to see who is No. 2. My guess is that fourth-year tight end Trey Burton will win that spot and longtime Eagle Brent Celek.

With this all in mind, let’s take a look at each players’ role and what he’ll mean to the Eagles in 2017.

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Zach Ertz

Ertz is the clear-cut best tight end on the Eagles roster. In 14 games last season, Ertz caught a career-high 78 passes for 816 yards and tied a career high with his four touchdowns. His numbers weren’t great, but they also weren’t bad by any means.

Expectations have been high for Ertz, and the Eagles confirmed that when they signed him to a five-year, $42.5 million deal last offseason. If Ertz can play and start a full 16 game season for the first time in his career, he has potential to put up monstrous numbers. Had Ertz played the full 16-game season, he would have ended with almost 90 receptions, 933 yards, and five scores.

If you had to pick apart Ertz’s game, he isn’t the best blocker in the NFL. However, the Eagles understand that, and they like to line Ertz up in the slot more often than not. In 2016, according to Pro Football Focus, Ertz was second in the NFL for tight ends catching passes from the slot with 44. With more than half of his receptions coming from the slot, the Eagles will need to utilize him even more from the slot in 2017.

Brent Celek

Celek is a solid complement to Ertz. Last season, Ertz played 525 passing snaps while Celek only played 134. But, Celek made his money on run block snaps. He played 253 run snaps, which is more than half of his 442 total snaps in 2016. He may not be a guy that will impact the passing game, but his ability to help block in the run game makes him an important part of the Eagles offense.

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The 11-year vet once had 76 receptions for 971 yards and eight scores, but that was back in 2009. In 2016, Celek ended the year with only 14 receptions for 155 yards. Although, Celek has embraced his new role. He’s a great mentor for Ertz and Burton and a great overall teammate. Celek even took a pay cut, from $4 million to $3 million, highlighting his team-first mentality.

Trey Burton

Burton is a mix of both Ertz and Celek. Pro Football Focus graded him as the highest run blocking tight end on the team last season. The best part about his solid run blocking is the fact he is an even better receiver. He is a former undrafted free agent, but Burton was given a second-round tender this offseason. That came in large part to his ability to get open as a receiver.

In 2016, Burton was second in the NFL with the highest target percentage for tight ends at 26 percent (per Pro Football Focus). That means that more than one-fourth of the time Burton ran a route, the ball came his way. If any of these three tight ends is in for a big year, Burton gets the nod from me. I expect him to come close to doubling his 233 pass snaps in 2017 and show that he is a legitimate threat in the passing game.

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It is rare for a team to have three tight ends that can impact a game as the Eagles do. Celek’s run blocking ability, matched with Ertz and Burton’s ability to get open and create mismatches is going to open up the offense that much more in Wentz’s second year.