Eagles Brass Addressed A Position That Feels Like A Need In The NFL Draft

PHILADELPHIA – This feels like a tight end kind of draft for the Eagles.

Not that Howie Roseman or Nick Sirianni would tip their hands about that when the general manager and head coach talked on Tuesday afternoon in their annual pre-draft news conference.

Roseman said that the unsettled Dallas Goedert situation won’t impact what they do at the tight end spot when the draft begins on April 24 in Green Bay.

“The way we look at the draft is that it’s a separate entity to anything else that’s going on,” said Roseman “We have to make good decisions in the draft based on who the players are that are available in the draft. We can’t make up any position and make them any better than they’re not.

“We have to truly have a process. We try to do as much as we can in any position in free agency to try to make sure that we’re not in position where there are needs.”

The Eagles added a pair of tight ends during free agency – Harrison Bryant and Kylen Granson. That doesn’t feel like enough, so the Eagles should be dipping early in the draft – the first three rounds at least – at the position.

Since selecting Dallas Goedert in the second round in 2018, the Eagles have drafted only one tight end, and that was Grant Calcaterra in the sixth round in 2022.

It’s a position that has always been a strength since Roseman became the GM, from Brent Celek to Zach Ertz to Goedert. Roseman said he likes Calcaterra's development, especially last season, but this will be the final year of his rookie contract.

So, who’s got next?

It’ a relatively deep draft at the position, but as Roseman pointed out, there have been other drafts deep at one position and they missed out on getting one.

“It has to be based on the board that we have and the value in the draft,” he said. “We’ll stack it based on not needs but based on the players in this draft and this class. Certainly, when we talk about how the class looks, it all depends on who’s there when you’re picking.

“We’ve been in situations where we think it’s a really good class at a certain position and then when we’re picking it just hasn’t worked out where the caliber of the players met the value of the picks. I think that’s kind of how we judge the class is wherever we’re picking, what’s the caliber of player at that point in time.”

Sirianni was asked what he looks for in a tight end, and the coach mentioned plenty of traits before boiling it down to a few things.

“Always looking for a guy that can make plays with the ball in his hand and be able to have the ability, first of all, to be a factor in the run game and helping you out in the run game,” he said, “which is one of the harder matchups in the NFL – a defensive end vs. a tight end, and there’s other ways around that, but not a liability in the run game also.”

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