Eagles in Good Hands at Tight End

With Zach Ertz likely staying for now, the group is arguably the best in the NFL, especially with the rapid development of Tyree Jackson and veteran presence of Richard Rodgers

PHILADELPHIA – There are, admittedly, some very good tight pairings across the NFL.

The best tandem, however, resides in Philadelphia, where Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are at the top of the list.

Go even deeper down the depth chart, with veteran Richard Rodgers, unpolished gem Tyree Jackson, and even undrafted free agent Jack Stoll and this group as a whole may also be the very best in the league.

Having reliable tight ends can do wonders for a still-progressing quarterback like Jalen Hurts, who completed all three of his throws to tight ends - two to Ertz, one to Goedert.

Jackson is making the conversion to tight end from quarterback, a transition that only began last November.

He is looking it make rather seamless, so far.

Jackson caught two passes for 32 yards in Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, including a 19-yard grab in the final minute of the first half that put the Eagles in field goal range to ultimately stretch their halftime lead to 16-7.

That Jackson was on the field with a mix of first-teamers and second-teamers tells you how the Eagles feel about his development.

Tyree Jackson works on the jugs gun during a recent training camp practice :: Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven

Then there was Rodgers making a key block that helped spring Quez Watkins for a 79-yard touchdown on a receiver screen pass. The 29-year-old also caught both of his targets for 18 yards on Thursday.

Jackson got 20 snaps, with two on special teams; Rodgers had 12 snaps, 10 on special teams.

So, the battle to be TE3 is real.

It's doubtful the Eagles keep four.

Stoll didn’t get much chance to show what he has shown in camp, which has been solid, playing just five snaps.

There are two other tight ends who hardly played. Caleb Wilson got three offensive snaps and nine on special teams. Jason Croom didn’t get any.

As for Ertz, well, say what you want about him, and certainly, a lot of teams likely said some very unkind things about him this offseason as they tried to negotiate a lesser price to acquire the 30-year-old from GM Howie Roseman, but he has been fully invested.

Ertz led the team out of the tunnel before the game and received a thunderous ovation and, yes, he had a bad drop on third down that would have kept a drive alive instead of having to settle for a field goal, but he was active in his seven snaps.

Roseman never budged as team’s tried to lowball him with their offers, and while they may have created some hard feelings from Ertz, he makes this Eagles team better.

He can still be productive, and if he is still on the roster come the Sept. 12 opener, he very well could end up breaking Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael’s franchise record for most receptions in a career. 

No one thought that would be even remotely possible after Ertz’s tearful good-bye press conference – or at least what he thought was going to be his farewell – yet, here is he is, needing just 29 catches to hit 590 career receptions to push ahead of Carmichael, who caught his last pass in Eagles green during the 1983 season.

That’s a 38-year-old record that is in jeopardy once again, after a 2020 season in which many thought Ertz would write his name in the team history book.

Even the Eagles get blown away with offers for Ertz and he is moved, the team seems in capable hands with Goedert and perhaps Rodgers and Jackson.

SNAP COUNTS FROM THE GAME:

OFFENSE

B Toth T 35 78%

I Opeta G 33 73%

J Driscoll G 28 62%

M Pryor T 28 62%

N Herbig C 28 62%

J Flacco QB 23 51%

J Arcega-Whiteside WR 22 49%

G Ward WR 21 47%

T Jackson TE 20 44%

T Fulgham WR 19 42%

A Patton WR 19 42%

K Gainwell RB 19 42%

J Reagor WR 17 38%

Q Watkins WR 14 31%

Rodgers TE 12 27%

L Juriga C 12 27%

N Mullens QB 12 27%

R Pierschbacher G 12 27%

J Huntley RB 10 22%

J Mailata T 10 22%

L Johnson T 10 22%

J Kelce C 10 22%

J Hurts QB 10 22%

H Butler WR 8 18%

K Johnson RB 8 18%

K Awosika T 7 16%

Z Ertz TE 7 16%

H Crider G 7 16%

J Howard RB 5 11%

J Stoll TE 5 11%

B Scott RB 5 11%

B Brooks G 5 11%

D Goedert TE 5 11%

C Wilson TE 3 7%

J Ausbon WR 3 7%

A Killins RB 3 7%

DEFENSE

Bradley LB 60 72%

T Jackson DE 58 70%

M Epps SS 52 63%

R Smith LB 52 63%

R Williams DT 52 63%

M Tuipulotu DT 52 63%

Z McPhearson DB 49 59%

P Johnson LB 46 55%

A Adams SS 44 53%

J Bailey DE 44 53%

K Seymour CB 38 46%

M Jacquet DB 37 45%

J Scott CB 36 43%

E Riley DB 31 37%

B Countess SS 31 37%

L Hill DB 26 31%

T McGill DT 24 29%

J Ostman DE 23 28%

H Ridgeway DT 23 28%

M Williams DT 23 28%

A Singleton LB 19 23%

T Edwards LB 18 22%

S Nelson CB 8 10%

A Harris FS 8 10%

B Graham DE 8 10%

D Slay CB 8 10%

D Barnett DE 8 10%

E Wilson LB 8 10%

J Hargrave DT 8 10%

F Cox DT 7 8%

A Maddox CB 6 7%

J Sweat DE 6 7%

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 or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.