Zach Ertz will be Pro Bowler in 2014

Since last season Zach Ertz has improved every aspect of his game. The sky is the limit for him. He has had the most buzz out of anybody during training camp. In his second year his role and production will grow. He has a unique combination of skill and size to go along with his athleticism and versatility. Zach Ertz has an awesome name. It starts with a Z and ends with a Z. His name allows us to have fun word play such as: Ertz up your skirtz or Zach so good your tight end Ertz. His great name matches his great play. He was a former All-American for Stanford before being drafted early in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. During his first year, Ertz was able to make an impact to the team. He played 16 games in his rookie season and finished with 36 catches for 469 yards and 4 touchdowns. In his second year he will be even better making him a pro-bowler.

Versatility is a trait that Chip Kelly treasures. Not only can Zach Ertz play tight end, but he can also go out wide or in the slot as a receiver. Being able to be moved around the field like a chess piece exemplifies how extraordinarily athletic he is. He is able to create mismatches in the passing game. In today’s NFL the most effective mismatch that favors the offense is an athletic tight end being covered by a linebacker. The tight ends accounted for a little less than a third of the Eagles 32 passing touchdowns in 2013 season. Next year expect Zach Ertz to lead the team in receiving touchdowns. Kelly wants to use their size to battle for the ball in the air and in traffic. As a rookie Ertz showed that he does not only have size. He had an impressive average of 13 yards per catch and 8 receptions of 20 or more yards. These numbers show that he can also run good routes and knows how to get open. Kelly was infatuated with him before scouting him for the 2013 draft. It was during the Oregon and Stanford games that Kelly realized how phenomenal Ertz could be. It is hard not to fall in love with Zach Ertz like Chip Kelly has. Zach better perform or else Eagles fans will know how love Ertz.

Kelly requires his tight ends to block at the line and downfield. At the start of season, Ertz was not a functional blocker. Throughout last season and the offseason he has had time to improve. Now a year with the Eagles strength program, he will be better suited to take on blockers and endure the rigors of the NFL season. Last year, number 86 for the Eagles would come off the field when the Eagles needed to run the ball. Now that Zach Ertz’s blocking is improved he will be able to stay on the field. Last year Brent Celek blocked for double the amount of snaps than Ertz.

Ertz’s improved blocking allows Chip Kelly to not have to worry about the personnel that is on the field. The Eagles can run a two tight end formation more effectively now with both Brent Celek and Zach Ertz. A two tight end formation should become the staple of the Eagles offense instead of some variation of a three wide receiver formation. It was something that Kelly used more towards the latter half of the season. This is a direct result of Zach Ertz progressing throughout last season. A 2-TE formation is effective with the no-huddle because the defense is not able to guess if the play will be a run or a pass based on the formation.

Zach Ertz and Brent Celek both have two unique styles of playing the tight end position. It would be redundant for the Eagles to have more than one tight end of the same skill-set on the roster. Celek is a grinder. He fights for every yard and through tackles. Celek is a superior blocker. He is pivotal to the Eagles rushing attack. Ertz may never be as skilled of a blocker as Celek. Because Brent Celek is in the prime of his career there is no need to push or rush Ertz’s development. However, as Zach Ertz emerges Celek’s playing time will decrease. Celek has about three more solid years left. His playing of play is extremely rigorous and wearing on the body. By the end of the season Zach Ertz will take over as the premier tight end of the Eagles.

Ertz is another offensive weapon of the Eagles whose numbers will not match his ability because the Eagles have an abundant of weapons. He creates mismatches. He is a vertical weapon. He is a red zone target. He has the ability to become the best tight end in Eagles history. And rank up there with modern tight ends such as Jason Witten and Julius Thomas. It would be a stretch to compare his future production to Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski.

A player that will not have the ball in his hands as much because of the emergence of Zach Ertz is Riley Cooper. We talk about his situation here. If every player performs up to their ability, Cooper should have lower statistics than he did last year. Nick Foles will get the ball thrown to him when they need to utilize his size. Times for that would be in the end zone or on third down.

Quick comparison of Zach Ertz to his fellow Rookies:

Player	Team	Round	Catches	Yards	AVG	TDs
Tyler Eifert	Bengals	1	39	445	11.4	2
Zach Ertz	Eagles	2	36	469	13	4
Gavin Escobar	Cowboys	2	9	134	14.9	2
Vance McDonald	49ers	2	8	119	14.9	0
Jordan Reed	Redskins	3	45	499	11.1	3
Travis Kelce	Chiefs	3	0	0	0	0
Dion Sims	Lions	4	6	32	5.3	1
Levine Toilolo	Falcons	4	11	55	5	2
Luke Wilson	Seahawks	5	0	0	0	0
Nick Kasa	Raiders	6	1	9	9	1
Mychal Rivera	Raiders	6	38	407	10.7	4
Ryan Griffin	Texans	6	19	244	12.8	1

Zach Ertz is right at the top of a very competitive tight end draft class. If Ertz ever wonders how he is progressing all he has to do is look over to his division rival, the Redskins. Jordan Reed has seen most of his playing time because of the decline of Fred Davis.

notice Cooper watching in the background