Why Eagles coaches can't stop praising Goedert

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The morning after Nick Sirianni proclaimed that Dallas Goedert deserves to be in the conversation as one of the best tight ends in football, he wasn’t done.

Sirianni doubled down.

“Dallas Goedert needs to be in the conversation for best tight ends in the NFL,” Sirianni said again on Friday morning, the day after Goedert went off for 100 yards in Houston.

“He's a big-time player. He can do it many different ways. He does it in the intermediate game, he does it in the short passing game, he does it in the screen game, and then he's an all-around good blocker. There aren't a lot of guys like him.”

That’s hard to argue.

Through eight games, Goedert is on pace to smash his previous career highs and is well on his way to his first Pro Bowl nod. Goedert already has 40 catches for 521 yards and 2 touchdowns and is a huge reason the Eagles are 8-0.

Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is in agreement with Sirianni.

“There's no question about it,” Steichen said. “Dallas is one of the premier tight ends in this league right now.”

Just look at the numbers:

• Goedert’s 40 catches rank fourth among TEs behind Travis Kelce (57), Zach Ertz (46) and Mark Andrews (42).

• His 521 receiving yards rank second behind just Kelce (659).

• His average yards per catch of 13.0 ranks second (minimum 20 targets) behind T.J. Hockenson (13.3).

• His catch percentage of 80% (40 of 50 targets) ranks fourth (minimum 20 targets) behind Will Dissly (92.3%), Robert Tonyan (82.6%) and David Njoku (81.0%).

Aside from those numbers, Goedert remains an incredibly important blocker for the Eagles and is ranked as the fourth-best tight end in the NFL by PFF behind Kelce, Andrews and Njoku.

Both Mark Andrews and George Kittle have dealt with injuries and have missed time this season so it really comes down to Kelce vs. Goedert as the top tight end in the NFL. Even if you give the nod to the future Hall of Famer Kelce, that means Goedert is second.

“He's big. He's strong. He's fast. He's mean. He's fast,” Sirianni said after Thursday’s win. “That's why he's so productive. You're just seeing his game elevate. I hope what everyone is seeing on these nationally televised games is what we see every day in practice and what we've seen consistently through these past two years that Dallas Goedert deserves attention for being one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

“You have Jason's brother who is unbelievable. Travis is unbelievable. I love Dallas Goedert. He deserves to be in the conversation of one of the best tight ends in this league.”

Goedert, 27, had a big 2021 season and his numbers really took off after Ertz was traded in October. The pace in the second half of 2021 really foreshadowed his 2022 success. But this could be the year Goedert finally makes the Pro Bowl.

Last season, the two tight ends selected from the NFC were Kittle and then-rookie Kyle Pitts. Kittle missed a couple games already and Pitts’ numbers are way down in Year 2. So this could be the year for Goedert. And even if Kelce continues his ridiculous run, Goedert could also be in line for second-team All-Pro if things keep going this way.

“He continues to show it week in and week out, what he does on the field,” Steichen said. “It starts in the meeting rooms. It starts on the practice field. The way he takes care of his body to get ready for football games. And the way he mentally prepares for football games.

“Then just his strength and size and his quickness and his play strength, it's at the top of the league right now without question.”

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