The Philadelphia Eagles had plenty of questions heading into the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft as many wondered whether or not they would go with West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith at No. 35. While they ended up passing on the quarterback, the Eagles decided to still stick with offense and go with a different weapon at tight end instead in Zach Ertz out of Stanford.
Even though the Eagles already have Brent Celek, it was difficult to pass on a player like Ertz at this point in the draft considering he’s arguably the best pass-catching tight end from this year’s class. Ertz is a great route runner for a player his size as he’s coming off a 2012 season in which he caught 69 passes for 898 yards to go along with six touchdowns.
When looking at Philadelphia, they certainly could always use another weapon for Michael Vick in the passing game and there’s a good chance Ertz could see significant playing time as a rookie. Celek has always been great in the passing game, but he’s never been the most consistent players when it comes to posting up big numbers.
Now that Ertz is on board, there’s a good chance the Eagles could be using the tight end position more in the passing game during the 2013 season. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ertz impressed the Philadelphia coaching staff enough to give Celek a run for his money at the starting job at tight end.
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