The Eagles named Doug Pederson their new head coach two weeks ago, and their first order of business has been to give big contract extensions to their tight ends. Zach Ertz and Brent Celek are pieces that Pederson wants to keep around.
Especially Ertz. Per reports, Ertz received a contract making him one of the top 5 highest-paid tight ends in the league – almost $43 million for five years, with $20 million guaranteed. According to the figures of OverTheCap.com only three tight ends are making more than Ertz – Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas and Rob Gronkowski.
But the Eagles aren’t done. Celek had one year left on his contact, and according to Adam Caplan of ESPN, they’ve given him a three-year extension worth $13 million, with $6 million guaranteed.
It’s not rocket science to suggest tight ends are going to be a big part of Pederson’s offense, which makes sense, given how they used the tight ends in Kansas City last year, where Pederson was the coordinator.
In Kansas City, Travis Kelce caught 67 and 72 passes the last two years, with 5 TDs in each season. Ertz has some of the same kind of skills, and he’ll presumably fill the same kind of role.
Kansas City has also used primarily two tight ends. The second guy tends to be more of a blocker, but Anthony Fasano caught 25 passes and 4 TDs in 2014. They used primarily James O’Shaughnessey and Demetrius Harris in that role last year, and they finished with 13 catches and a touchdown. Celek should plug into that kind of a role.
If I were walking into a dynasty/keeper league today, Ertz would be one of the first half dozen tight ends I would select. Gronkowski would be No. 1. Eifert and Reed would be my next two. Then not much difference between Kelce, Olsen and Ertz. Olsen is better than some of those other guys right now, but he’ll also be 31 in March.
DYNASTY TIGHT ENDS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Player | Age |
1. | NE | Rob Gronkowski | 26 |
2. | CIN | Tyler Eifert | 25 |
3. | WAS | Jordan Reed | 25 |
4. | KC | Travis Kelce | 26 |
5. | CAR | Greg Olsen | 30 |
6. | PHI | Zach Ertz | 25 |
7. | TB | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | 23 |
8. | JAC | Julius Thomas | 27 |
9. | CHI | Martellus Bennett | 28 |
10. | IND | Coby Fleener | 27 |
11. | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | 26 |
12. | SEA | Jimmy Graham | 29 |
13. | BAL | Crockett Gillmore | 24 |
14. | DET | Eric Ebron | 22 |
15. | TEN | Delanie Walker | 31 |
16. | CLE | Gary Barnidge | 30 |
17. | GB | Richard Rodgers | 24 |
18. | BUF | Charles Clay | 26 |
19. | OAK | Clive Walford | 24 |
20. | MIA | Jordan Cameron | 27 |
21. | PIT | Jesse James | 21 |
22. | NYG | Will Tye | 24 |
23. | DAL | Jason Witten | 33 |
24. | SD | Antonio Gates | 35 |
25. | BAL | Maxx Williams | 21 |
26. | CHI | Zach Miller | 30 |
27. | STL | Jared Cook | 28 |
28. | DAL | Gavin Escobar | 24 |
29. | SF | Vance McDonald | 25 |
30. | SD | Ladarius Green | 25 |
31. | ARI | Darren Fells | 29 |
32. | NO | Benjamin Watson | 35 |
33. | OAK | Mychal Rivera | 25 |
34. | DEN | Vernon Davis | 31 |
35. | NYJ | Jace Amaro | 23 |
36. | DEN | Owen Daniels | 33 |
37. | PIT | Heath Miller | 33 |
38. | STL | Lance Kendricks | 27 |
39. | IND | Dwayne Allen | 25 |
40. | DEN | Jeff Heuerman | 23 |
—Ian Allan