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The DiCecco Daily: Are Eagles Better Or Worse At TE? · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: What's happened?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Everyone? Welcome into another episode of the check O Deli
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Andrew Dchecko Eagles beat reporter for Insidethbirds dot Com.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Here gotta make this one relatively quick.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: I am in the parking lot getting ready to go
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: in to see Cheap Trick tonight, looking forward to that.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: But we're gonna continue our better or worse or the
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: same series here on Inside the Birds, and I'm going
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: with the tight end position today. So looking at the
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty five tight end position, you had Dallas Goddard, Grant,
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Kyle Katerra, and I think and Kylin Granson as well.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: But when you look at that group, they left a
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: lot to be desired when it comes to blocking. They
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: were all receiving centric tight ends. Dallas Goddard for the
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: season that he had eleven receiving touchdowns career high sixty
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: receptions also a career high. I thought that he was
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: underutilized from a volume stand point, but his blocking regress
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: last season, that was something that was very evident going
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: back and rewatching the games, it was evident watching the
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: games in real time. And he resigns in twenty twenty six,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: so you have him back in the fold for another season,
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: a security blanket and trusted target for quarterback Jalen Hurts,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: which obviously goes a long way and gives the Eagles
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: that tight end one that they need.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: But let's look at the twenty twenty five group.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Because Dallas Goddard was a popular target for Hertz, Grant
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: Kakata always had nine receptions last season as the Eagles
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: second tight end, and there was so much made about
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: his inefficiency as a blocker, and I'm not here to
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: dispute that, but I go back to what I said previously,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: and that is that that's all the coaches for putting
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Grant in a difficult situation that doesn't accentuate what he
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: does well, that's not on the player. He's a willing blocker,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: he's just not very effective at it. And for as
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: much as he played, I thought that he played a
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: role in the running game not being able to get
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: anything going. It was tough sledding from an offensive line
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: health perspective, but also the tight ends didn't really do
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: a lot to help aid or mitigate the health concerns
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: along the offensive line. So Grant Kakata is a player
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: that I think he's fine as a backup tight end.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: The Eagles like him.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Jalen Hurts likes him as evidence with how often he
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: targets him in training camp. And Grant is a pretty
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: athletic receiving tight end, and I think he's probably best
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: slotted as a number three, but last season he was
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: the two and still underutilized for as much as the
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Eagles play twelve personnel, and that's gonna see an uptick
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: in twenty twenty six, but.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: We'll get there in a moment.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Then, Kylon Granson was signed in free agency as an
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: intriguing player in the sense that he was a fourth
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: round pick of the Indianapolis Colts and he could align
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: pretty much everywhere on offense, including the backfield. The Eagles
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: didn't use them all that much, but he was a
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: strong contributor on special teams. He signs with the Titans
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: in the offseason. And then you had, of course Cameron
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Latu and EJ.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Jenkins.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: I'm just kind of including them in because they both
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Cam Latu is a tight end by trade, but he
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: converted to fullback last season and I thought that he
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: was underutilized. I was surprised that they didn't use them
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: all that much. As a second tight end when it
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: comes to blocking, more as an inline blocker to really
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: accentuate his physicality and ability to do that and create
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: movement in the run game. But he was more deployed
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: as a fullback and he did some good things there.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: He's not a natural fullback, but adam necessity because Ben
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: van sumer and got hurt, the Eagles were inclined to
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: keep the fullback in the offense, and Cameron Lotu, I think,
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: deserve an opportunity to showcase what he can do as
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: a tight end because in training camp, and I go
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: back to my training camp notes, I actually wrote one
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: day that number forty nine. I wrote number forty nine
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Cameron Lattu. He stonewalled Jehid Campbell, who had been blowing
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: up previously all of the tight ends in training camp
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: with his physicality and just full head esteem coming downhill.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: But there is one day where I remember he got
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: stonewalled and it was Cameron Latu. And then lat two
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: has another day or maybe it was even that same day,
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: where he completely walled off another surging linebacker, and to me,
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: I kind of jotted that down as something to keep
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: an eye on. He made the practice squad and then
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: of course was signed to the active roster. E J.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: Jenkins as a player the Eagles like they've worked with
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: over the years.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: He's two hundred and sixty pounds.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Mentioned to me at locker clean out that he intended
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: to drop weight to two fifty five for preservation purposes.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: He's a big guy.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: And it puts a lot of stress on the knees
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: and the lower back and all that. So that should
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: also help him move a little better. And you like
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: the frame he's developed and made strides as a blocker.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: That's something that he's taken a lot of pride in
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: whenever we've had our conversations. So he'll be back in
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: the fold this year and have another opportunity to make
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: the team. He also helps on special teams. But that
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: group last season left a lot to be desired, as
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I said, from a blocking standpoint, and the Eagles are
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: reimagining that room and trying to add more diversity in
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: terms of skill set. And let's look at the twenty
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: twenty six group because Alas Goddard, as I mentioned, returns
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: as the Eagles top tight end, and I think another
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: big season awaits Sean Manny and the new offensive coordinator
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: is going to utilize the tight ends a lot more,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: and I think from a creative standpoint, maybe not necessarily
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: in terms of volume, because it's not a volume based
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: passing attack.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: Let's not lose sight of that.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Even though he is to make some significant changes offensively,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: I do believe you're going to see more creativity in
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: terms of route concepts and how they involved Dallas Goddard
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: because Dallas Goddard never has hasn't really had an opportunity
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: to threaten teams vertically down the seam. He was finally
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: featured in the red zone where he can use his
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: body to play that above the rim style. He's extremely
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: physical and boxes out defenders, and I think Sean Manning
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: is going to continue to tap into that and maybe
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: even take.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: It a step further.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Grant Kakata is back, and if deployed properly, I think
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: that he is totally fine and as a number three
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: tight end ideally is where you would like him.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: But he's a trusted option.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: He's been around for a while, a six round pick
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: of the Eagles in twenty twenty two and has carved
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: out a nice career and established staying power in Philadelphia,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: and he was a player that when I went into
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: free agency and I was doing my preview, I had
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: noted that it didn't seem plausible or feasible to completely
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: wipe out that entire tight end room and expect to
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: build it from scratch. And I thought, if the price
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: was right, and I assumed it would be, it would
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: make sense to bring back grand Ka Katera. But make
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: sure you use him properly and make sure you have
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: him slotted and evaluated properly. And I think as a three,
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: he's totally fine. They also signed Johnny Munt in free
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: agency as a blocking specialist. He kind of is in
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: the mold of a Jack Stole, except he's a superior blocker.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: He's a little older, so you don't quite know how
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: he fits into the picture. He's going to have to
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: prove it in training camp. He won't be assured anything,
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: but you can tell by the signing of someone like
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: that who hasn't made waves as a pass catcher throughout
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: his long career, and he's bounced around from team to team,
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: but it's because he specializes as a blocker, and he's
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: So as a three, I think you feel pretty comfortable
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: with that, and he'll have to obviously make the team,
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: but if he's able to, you can rest assured that
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: the blocking situation will have worked itself out because the
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Eagles did well to really reinforce that position and that
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: skill set, in particular at the tight end position. Then
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: you have Cameron Latsu, you have EJ. Jenkins, you have
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Jaheem Bell. Jaheim Bell and e J Jenkins were reserve
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: future signings, and I am expecting the Eagles to add
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: a tight end in the draft because you still have
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: to identify that successor to Dallas Goddard. There isn't an
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: obvious answer on the roster. All of the tight ends,
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: as a matter of fact, that are under contract in
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty six aren't under contract in twenty twenty seven,
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: so the room could look completely different next offseason. And
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: I would expect the Eagles to target a tight end now,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: whether that's the second round, if they really want to
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: go Kenyon Sadek in the first round, they're probably gonna
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: have to be a little bit more aggressive to get them.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: But I do believe that they're going to come out
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: of this draft with a tight end that isn't just
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: a Day three flyer or someone who has intriguing skill
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: set that you're rolling the dice on. No, I think
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: it's going to be more along the lines of someone
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: who can can help and make an early impact and
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: develop an early rapport with Jaywen Hurts because eventually, when
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: they have to turn the reins over, you want that
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: player to be able to step in seamlessly, and they've
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: done that in the past with Chad Lewis to l J.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: Smith, l J.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Smith to Brent Selick, Brent Selick to zach Ert zach
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: Ers to Dallas got Ter, Dallas Gotter.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Two.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: We're going to find out, but I'm expecting what maybe
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: an Eli Stowers, Maybe it's a Max Claire or an
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: Oscar Delp. Oscar Delp is one of my favorite tight
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: end prospects in this class, and I think he's sort
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: of miscast as a blocker because his receiving numbers were
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: really minimal and underwhelming when you.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: Look at it on the surface.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: But when he got his targets, it's see the athleticism,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: the physicality after the catch, the range that he has
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: as a receiver, the catch radius, and I think there's
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: a lot like I think there's another level that he
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: can hit, and you bring him into an NFL system.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Georgia's Oscar Delp I think is going to be an
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: absolute stud at the next level.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Can't wait to see what he can do. Maybe he'll
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: be an option for the Eagles if they so choose
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: to go that route.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Then you can kind of after the top four, you
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: can kind of slot at any way you want. There's
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: Eli Raridan from Notre Dame, There's Johnny Jolie from NC State,
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: and then you have other players like Sam Rouse from Stanford,
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: who is more of the quintessential blocking tight end at
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: two hundred and sixty seven pounds, an imposing build. I
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: spoke to him at the NFL scouting combine. He blocks
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: with an attitude, with a tenacity. He has the mentality
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: that you want to play a nasty brand of football,
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: and he's also very physical after the catch. Reminds me
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: a little bit of Vance McDonald member Vance McDonald, the
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: man of Animal as they used to call him, where
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: he would just full head esteem, plow over defenders and
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: play with that physical edge. And I like Sam Roush
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: probably as a fourth round type of player who can
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: step in and give you some upside. Stamford has a
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: rich history of producing NFL tight ends, and I think
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: Sam Rous is next in line to really take that mantle.
• 11:28
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  Speaker 2: And then there's also Stone Smart. I don't want to
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: forget him. I knew I was forgetting someone. Stone Smart
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: is a player that the Eagles took a flyer on
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: six four to twenty five, little more on the undersized bill.
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: From a weight perspective, he's a receiving centric player, can
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: help on special teams.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: That's going to have to be his avenue.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: If he is to make the Eagles, He's going to
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: have to make an impact on special teams. He's more
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: of a long shot, but you never can tell until
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: you get the player in the pads, in the jersey,
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: in the system and see how they maneuver and acclimate
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: to the offense. Maybe he opened some eyes, but he's
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: a little bit further down in the pecking order and
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: is going to have to in all likelihood scratch and
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: claw to make the team. But those are the players
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: that you feel compelled to take a one year flyer
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: on a low risk signing because of the athletic traits.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: He's still relatively new to the tight end position. Was
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: a quarterback, was a wide receiver at Old Dominion. In college,
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: he bounced around a little bit, had some time with
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: the Jets, and he was able to kind of.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: Carve out a career for himself.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: And I think now in Philadelphia he'll have an opportunity
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: to be able to further his development in a system
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: that's going to really focus I think a lot on
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: the tight ends, as history would indicate. So there's your
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: tight end room. I would say, all things considered, right now,
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: even without drafting a player, this room is definitively better
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: than the one of last season. I feel pretty confident
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: in that. And a lot of that has to do
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: simply with adding Johnny Munt, who is going to provide
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: that blocking prowess that this offense needs to really head
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: things in the right direction in the ground game especially,
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: So that's going to do it. For this episode of
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: to check O Daily, I'm Andrew Decheco. We'll catch you
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: all on the next one.