Jack Stoll is an Under-the-Radar UDFA to Keep an Eye On
PHILADELPHIA - By this point, you've heard enough about Zach Ertz and his future, or lack thereof, in Philadelphia.
Few believe Ertz is part of the Eagles' 2021 plans and June 1 is where the rubber could meet the road.
In advance of the demarcation line of the NFL offseason, the organization has $3,814,453 in salary-cap space per the NFLPA and will need just over $3.6M of that to sign its rookie class with the top three selections - receiver DeVonta Smith, offensive lineman Landon Dickerson and defensive tackle Milton Williams - would factor in with top-51 rule.
Previous June 1 designations tied to the releases of veterans Alshon Jeffery and Malik Jackson will give Howie Roseman another $4M but if the Eagles GM really wants some breathing room to work with a player like Steven Nelson, never mind a pie-in-the-sky objective like Julio Jones, he'll need far more wiggle room.
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The easiest way to create it is moving on from Ertz, a move that would open up $8.5M.
Considering the player doesn't want to be here and if Ertz does return unhappy he'll be penciled into the TE2 role behind Dallas Goedert, making things even more difficult for a rookie head coach, you can see why the organization will also want to ultimately move on.
To date, Roseman has played bad cop, insisting he wants value for what has been one of the best receiving tight ends in NFL history.
However, the league doesn't pay age and Ertz crossed into his 30s last November and coming off his worst season. The best deal the Eagles have had on the table to date has been a fifth-round pick from the Chargers, a source told SI.com Eagle Maven.
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At some point, the cap space becomes more important than the compensation for the Eagles, and whether that game of chicken ends on June 2 or August in the hope injuries elsewhere create desperation, the odds on Ertz playing in Philadelphia in 2021 remain extremely low.
That said, who factors into the TE2 role behind Goedert when Ertz is gone?
The Eagles have assembled plenty of bodies, none of them proven.
Jason Croom and Caleb Wilson, the son of former defensive line coach Chris Wilson, are names that might be recognizable to hardcore fans while Hakeem Butler, a former king-sized WR in college at Iowa State, and Tyree Jackson, a college quarterback at Buffalo, are the developmental options.
Maybe the two most likely candidates are a player who's not officially here, Richard Rodgers, and undrafted free agent Jack Stoll.
Rodgers was really good in 2020 when forced into action due to injuries to both Ertz and Goedert, so much so that ProFootballFocus.com graded the veteran as the second-best TE in the NFL behind Travis Kelce, albeit in limited snaps.
Everyone can see that film but Rodgers, 29, is slow and has athletic limitations so he remains on the market, perhaps with a wink-wink acknowledgment that he'll be brought back by the Eagles when the time is right (i.e. when they get rid of Ertz).
Stoll, meanwhile, was given a draftable grade by many analysts coming out of Nebraska and although the Eagles' undrafted class had bigger names like QB Jamie Newman and receivers Trevon Grimes and Jhamon Ausbon, it was Stoll, 6-foot-4 and 247 pounds, who was given the most guaranteed money of the group at $122,500 with the $22.5K of that serving as a signing bonus, also a high for the UDFA.
While it's not a hard-and-fast rule that the UDFA given the most money are the ones sticking around, it is a good indication of a starting point and where an organization values the player.
In Stoll's case, he's more of a well-rounded tight end with the ability to play in-line (Y), a scenario that would free Goedert to be the flex TE more often.
In fact, a former AFC personnel executive described Stoll as an old-school Y tight end who projects to 12 personnel power scheme if he can improve his footwork and become more consistent on a down-to-down basis.
Because the goal for the Philadelphia offense is to better utilize Goedert as a receiver moving forward, you can see the obvious fit a player like Stoll could provide.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
