On July 24, there will be football again, as quarterbacks, rookies, and select veterans will report for training camp. Leading up to camp, we'll be taking a look at each positional group. Today we'll preview the tight ends.
OTHER TRAINING CAMP PREVIEWS: QB | RB | WR
First, here's a look at the depth chart at tight end:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Zach Ertz | Brent Celek | Trey Burton | Anthony Denham | Billy Brown |
Over the last two years, Ertz suffered early season injuries, limiting his effectiveness in the first half of the season. Also in each of the last two seasons, he turned up his production big-time late in the season.
Ertz's production by month the last two years:
| Zach Ertz | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| September | 14 | 151 | 10.8 | 0 |
| October | 25 | 269 | 10.8 | 0 |
| November | 37 | 347 | 9.4 | 1 |
| December/January | 77 | 902 | 11.7 | 5 |
While Ertz's production was less meaningful to Eagles teams that were already out of the playoff hunt, and something of a tease, he has shown that he can be a major weapon in the Eagles' offense if he can stay healthy.
There's also the argument that Ertz has not had quarterback consistency over the course of his career. In 2013, he had Mike Vick and Nick Foles. In 2014, he had Foles and Mark Sanchez. In 2015, he had Sam Bradford. And finally, in 2016, he had Carson Wentz.
There's something to that, as rapport between a quarterback and his receivers can take time.
If Ertz can be the receiver he has been late in the season, but in meaningful games, there's no reason he can't be a top-five type of receiving tight end in the NFL. It'd also be nice if he could make more of an effort in trying to get yards after the catch.
As for the rest of the bunch:
• Celek took a million dollar pay cut this offseason, reducing his salary from $4 million in 2017 to $3 million. A season ago, Celek signed a contract extension that essentially served as a pay cut as well.
- MORE ON THE EAGLES
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- Carson Wentz and the Eagles receivers are prepping for camp in North Dakota
- Eagles move up five spots in ESPN's NFL Future Power Rankings
- Mailbag: Who do the Eagles match up favorably (and unfavorably) with in the NFC East?
In 2016 at Shepherd University, Brown had 99 catches (led D2) for 1580 yards (second in D2) and 22 TDs (tied for second in D2) as a wide receiver. He has since bulked up a bit in preparation of playing tight end in the pros.
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