• March 28, 2024

2014 Outlook: Tight Ends

BrentCelek2Brent Celek

Before the season, Celek was another guy that many wondered about how well he would fit into Chip Kelly’s system.

The Eagles clearly wanted to upgrade the position last year, spending big money to sign James Casey in free agency and using a high second-round pick on Zach Ertz. There was some talk that Celek might not even make it out of Training Camp.

However, Celek proved that he’s still very much a reliable option, finishing with 32 catches for 502 yards and six touchdowns. While his receptions and receiving yards were actually down from what they were in 2012, his touchdown production skyrocketed after he found the endzone only one time during that wretched 4-12 campaign.

He became a sturdy redzone target for Nick Foles, who was responsible for throwing five of Celek’s six scores.

Celek should continue to be a dependable option next year. As the year went on, he lost some snaps and looks to Ertz, and that trend figures to carry over and increase next year, but two tight end formations have become such a weapon in today’s NFL that Celek will still be a key contributor in 2014.

 

Zach Ertz

A star in the making.

Ertz is just oozing with potential, and unlike the L.J. Smiths, Clay Harbors, and Cornelius Ingrams before him, he appears to be legitimate.

The rookie finished with 36 catches for 469 yards and four touchdowns spending most of the season as the team’s second tight end, and really started to come on in the second half of the season.

All four of his touchdowns came in the final eight weeks, and he flashed signs of dominance with a six-catch effort for 68 yards and two touchdowns that were critical to the team’s win over Arizona.

He also caught a touchdown pass in the playoff loss to the Saints.

Ertz is going to be one of the most exciting Eagles to watch in 2014. He’s going to have an expanded role, and he’s got a chance to really be one of the game’s next top tight ends.

James Casey

When the Eagles signed Casey to a three-year deal worth over $12 million, they certainly had larger expectations in mind for Casey than just three catches for 31 yards and no touchdowns.

Casey was a bust in his first year with the team, there’s no doubt about that.

The expectation was that Casey was to be a jack-of-all-trades type of weapon that Kelly would use in about 100 different ways. But for a number of different reasons, those promises never materialized.

Casey fell behind the other tight ends early, and never recovered. Brent Celek surpassed the coaching staff’s expectations, and Zach Ertz was too talented to keep off of the field.

Casey dropped what should have been a touchdown reception from Michael Vick against the Chargers in Week 2, and never got another good opportunity to show what he could do through the rest of the season. He was used primarily as a blocker.

But the Eagles shouldn’t give up on Casey yet. He’s a very young, talented player who was a great help to the Houston Texans during their playoff years, and he could still be a big weapon here. As long as the Eagles’ salary cap situation will allow it, I’d like them to keep Casey around. An injury to either Celek or Ertz could make him extremely important again.

Final Thoughts

One of the expectations that we had for Chip Kelly was that he was going to lean heavily on his tight ends and make them a focal point of the offense.

That wasn’t exactly the case in 2013. The tight ends were a secondary option throughout the year. The only time we really saw them take over a game was against the Arizona Cardinals. And while we saw flashes here and there, more often than not we were left wondering about why the tight ends weren’t making a bigger impact.

I’ve thought about the year that the tight end position had in 2013, and I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe we expected too much too soon from this position. The level of expectation that we had is still possible, but I believe that Kelly needed some time to develop the position a bit. And I think from a development/improvement standpoint, the tight ends were a complete success.

Kelly rejuvenated Brent Celek. Gone were Celek’s concentration issues and dropped balls that hurt him in 2012, and his dramatically improved redzone scoring was huge step up from what he had been in the past.

Zach Ertz only got better as the year went on, and now stands primed as a major breakout candidate next year.

James Casey was the only disappointment here, but shouldn’t be written off yet.

Unless the team needs to clear some cap space by releasing Casey, this is another position that shouldn’t undergo a lot of change next year. There’s no need to add another big free agent with Celek and Casey around, and there’s also no need to use another high draft pick here with the success of Ertz.

Denny Basens

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eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
February 7, 2014 12:57 pm

alright new article,
Zach Ertz, successful selection ( Good job Howie,as usual)

paulman
paulman
February 7, 2014 1:01 pm

Eagles should demand a Re-Structure Casey’s Deal or simply Cut/Release him. There are some very good TE’s that can be had in the middle Rounds and for Rookie Salaries since they wold be the #3 TE behind Celek/Ertz

I like Crockett Gillmore from Colorado State at 6-6 253lbs who has a 4th Round Grade and my sleeper TE in this Draft is Marcel Jensen from Fresno State who at 6-6 264lbs with a 5th Round Grade and who is a Redshirt Junior could be a steal and would have the 1-2 Years learning behind Celek/Ertz to learn the Craft and mature physically while only paying him $500-$600K a Season instead of Casey’s $3+ Million only to be #3 on the Depth Chart.. That extra $2.5 Million can add another player of need at another Position of need.. .

eagles0superbowls
eagles0superbowls
February 7, 2014 1:13 pm
Reply to  paulman

Washington selected a jack of all trade TE combo we kind of envisioned James Casey was signed to be in pick Jordan Reed in the 4th round last year who may have dropped because of knee injury concerns which a knee injury ended his season in 2013- ( if the birds use a pick on a new TE to replace Casey are there any TE/ combo players available)

paulman
paulman
February 7, 2014 1:41 pm

The 2 that I listed above will make very good NFL TE’s, have size, speed,hands not the best blockers in the world, but most of today’s TE’s are not on the field to Block

There are some other Good Ones availalbe in the mid-late Rounds

1) Arthur Lynch (Georgia 6-5 260lbs – Prjoects as a 4th Rounder)
2) Richard Rogers (California 6-4 260lbs – Projects as a 6th Rounder)
3) Colt Lyerly (Oregon 6-5 250lbs – Projexts as a 6th/7th Rounder)

With College Teams scoring more Points and becoming more Pass-Oriented, many of these YOung TE’s are ready for the Pro game earlier in their Careers then years past where it took them 2-3 Years to become Starters or Impact Players… Now many of today’s TE’s, based on what system they played in and their Coaching are ready to step in and contribute during their first couple of Seasons based on their skill set and since most Teams today run a 2 TE Set a lot more than they used to, it actually creates more opportunities for these young TE’s to get on the Field and gain some confidence and experience as years before..

gmcliff
gmcliff
February 8, 2014 1:25 pm

Ertz will NOT be a star, but another team favorite that is an option in the teams Offense……Coby Fleener, Jared Cook, Branon Pettigrew…

Best TE on the team …..Brent Celek.

paulman
paulman
February 8, 2014 7:37 pm

When you combine both Celek’s & Ertz #’s
And Production last year (70 Receptions 1000 yards and 10 TD’s) which
mis pretty impressive..
Having 2 Good TE’s is as good and sometimes better than having 1 Stud and little else.. What happened to Saibts Offense when they took Saints J Gragsm out of the game or when the Patriots did so also
Having multiple TE’s gives more options to the Offense and can create match up issues for the Defense to prepare for which is not a bad thing
I believe Chip Kelly would rather have 5 Receievers (WR & TE’s combined)
With 40-50 Receptions each and 4-5 TD’s receptions than 2 big Studs with 75-80 Catches and 10 TD’s and little else behind them..
One thing we learned about Kelly, is that he is going to play a lot of Players on Offense and not rely on the same 2 WR, 1 TE to pkay 65 Sbaps a game
He will play 4-5 WR’s and 2 TE’s and expect the group collectively to make Plays, again as an Offense this makes opposing Defenses and DC have to prepare that much more than just 2 Key Targets
The Patriots & Peyton Manning with Colts and now Denver as well the Packers & Saints have all done this for years.. And have had great success with their 3rd/4th WR and multiple TE’s putting up #’s and making plays