Philadelphia Eagles: Zach Ertz making his mark on the NFL

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is in the prime of his career. Coming off his first Pro Bowl selection, he’s ready to make the jump into stardom

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz has emerged as one of the best players at the position in the league over the last few seasons. His consistency and playmaking ability for the Eagles has helped to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. Now for Ertz, it’s time to prove that his name should be at the top of the list for all Tight Ends in the NFL.

Ertz’s consistency throughout his career has been impressive. For three consecutive seasons he’s had 70+ receptions and 800+ yards receiving. Furthermore, the 2017 season was where he set a career high with eight touchdowns, earning him his first Pro Bowl selection.

While Ertz’s numbers have been consistent, the quarterback position for the Eagles has been anything but that. Since his rookie season, the Eagles have had four different quarterbacks to start the season in five years. That conundrum appeared to be fixed last year with Carson Wentz at the helm, but even that didn’t go to plan. His Week 14 injury put Nick Foles in the starting role. With all that inconsistency at the quarterback position, Ertz has still been able to produce at a high rate.

This season, there are still some quarterback issues for the Eagles. Carson Wentz is still a big question mark to be ready to start the season, but that shouldn’t stop Ertz. Last season, he finished third in the NFL among tight ends in receptions and yards receiving. He finished second in touchdowns among tight ends as well.

It would be a little bit of a reach to say that Ertz is the best tight end in the league. As long as Rob Gronkowski stays healthy up in New England, he’s still the cream of the crop. Ertz is clearly in the upper echelon of tight ends, however, with Gronk, Travis Kelce and Greg Olsen. Olsen is 33 years old and coming off an injury. Kelce lost his quarterback, Alex Smith, and will now be on the receiving end of passes from unproven Patrick Mahomes. Gronk, of course has Tom Brady, so there doesn’t seem to be a deadline for his success.

With that being said, Ertz may have the most upside among the rest of his peers with having Carson Wentz as his quarterback for the rest of his career. The Eagles did draft another tight end in Dallas Goedert, but don’t expect him to take away from Ertz’s production. Expect them to be a stellar 1-2 punch, with Ertz getting a large amount of targets.

With everything looking up for Ertz he can build on his already productive career and compete with Gronk for tight end supremacy in the NFL. If he stays healthy there’s no stopping him from making that happen.