A great mystery has been solved. Forget about DB Cooper, the Zodiac Killer or Stonehenge. I’m talking about the Eagles starting tight end for the 2025 season. We have an answer.
#Eagles and Dallas Goedert have, in essence agreed on the reworked deal — a restructure of his one-year contract that decreases $14.25M to $10M with up to a possible $1M in incentives.
I’m sorry that Goedert will lose out on some money. But I’m sure glad he’s back. DG is an ideal TE for this offense. He is an above-average blocker. He is a good receiver, with outstanding RAC ability. He doesn’t need a ton of touches, but can be a playmaker when needed. So why would you ask that guy to take a pay cut? He is now 30 years old. He missed 7 games last year and has missed 15 over the past 3 seasons. Fair or not, stuff like that affects value.
Dallas Goedert last year: 2nd among all tight ends in yards per route run, behind only George Kittle.
BIG dropoff in run blocking from TEs when he missed time.
This is a big win for the 2025 Eagles. Did not have a good backup plan if they traded/released him.
We had an idea this might be the outcome when the Eagles didn’t take a TE in the draft, where they had some good options. They also didn’t sign a UDFA. That told us there was a good chance DG would be coming back.
Howie Roseman usually has a good feel for things around the league. He knew there would be a limited market for Goedert. This was a good draft for TEs so teams focused on that rather than trying to trade for a veteran. Pro football is a business. The Eagles wanted Goedert at a lower figure and were able to pull that off.
The return of DG means the offense will have 10 of 11 starters back. Mekhi Becton is the only departure. You love that kind of continuity on offense. You can plug ‘n play guys on defense easier than offense.
This does make things interesting for the Eagles TEs.
Dallas Goedert
Grant Calcaterra
Harrison Bryant
Kylen Granson
EJ Jenkins
Nick Muse
Cameron Latu
Goedert will be the starter. You would think Calcaterra is #2, but I don’t think that is certain. Bryant is a guy who can block and catch. Granson is similar to Calcaterra in size and skill set. It sure feels like the Eagles want real competition. They would love for Calcaterra to have a breakout year and show he could be the TE of the future. But you can’t count on that. Bryant and Granson didn’t post big numbers last year, but each has had a 30-catch season in the past. They can get the job done.
Calcaterra was awful as a blocker for most of the season. He got better after the loss to Washington and showed real progress. We know he is a good athlete who can make plays in the passing game.
This will be a contract season for Calcaterra so he’s got all the incentive in the world. Play well and get paid. The talent is there. He’s just got to be more consistent.
The Eagles will have a better set of TEs in 2025. Goedert should be the same guy as always. Calcaterra took a step forward last season and could do so again this year. Bryant and Granson offer improved depth and could challenge Calcaterra for the #2 spot.
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If you want to talk about great Eagles TEs, Keith Jackson might have been the most talented of them all. He was small at 6-2, 250, but was a good athlete and terrific receiver.
The Eagles have a great 1-2 combo at QB with Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee. They acquired Dorian Thompson-Robinson in a trade this offseason, but DTR is far from a sure thing. He has struggled during his time in the NFL. It wasn’t a surprise that the Eagles drafted a QB. The interesting part was them picking Kyle McCord.
What did they see in McCord that made them choose him?
McCord was a five-star recruit coming out of St. Joe’s Prep. He went to Ohio State and backed up CJ Stroud in 2021 and 2022. McCord finally became the starter in 2023. OSU started 11-0 before losing to Michigan in the regular season finale and then to Missouri in the bowl game. McCord threw for 3,170 yards with 24 TDs and 6 INTs, but the disappointing end to the season cause the school to go after another QB in the transfer portal.
McCord transferred to Syracuse and that move worked well for him. The Orangemen went 10-3. McCord led the nation with 4,779 yards and also threw 34 TD passes. He played in a pass-heavy offense and that brought out the best in him.
Most draft analysts had McCord projected as a mid-round prospect. Dane Brugler said 3rd to 4th round. Daniel Jeremiah had him as his #138 prospect (late 4th). It was a bit surprising to see McCord fall to 181. He was good value at that point.
McCord is not special in any way (size, arm, athleticism, etc.). He is 6-3, 218. He has a solid arm. McCord is talented. Put on the tape and you will see some impressive throws. He is accurate. He has good ball placement. McCord threw plenty of short passes, but he is not afraid of taking chances down the field. He can be aggressive. He makes tight window throws.
That strength can also be a weakness at times. Sometimes he is too aggressive. There were too many “turnover worthy plays” in 2024. McCord would throw the ball into tight spaces where the risk wasn’t worth the reward. You can see this from his time at OSU as well. There are some RB screens where he should just throw the ball into the ground, but will try to fit it in there. That’s a big no-no. Aggressive is good, reckless is bad.
McCord didn’t work out at the Combine or his Pro Day so we don’t know how athletic he is compared to other players. He runs okay in space. Pocket movement is another story. He is not elusive at all.
The Syracuse offense featured lots of quick throws. McCord did well on those. He got the ball out quickly and was able to throw from different platforms. He can stand tall in the pocket, plant his foot and throw down the seam. Or he can go sidearm to a WR on a quick screen. All of the quick throws does raise the question of how well he reads defenses. There are times on tape when McCord won’t see the whole field. He will throw a dig route and not know a defender is coming from the backside to play the ball or hit the receiver.
McCord can throw on the move. He can improvise. He didn’t scramble much in college, but would move to buy time and then get the throw off. He might remind you of a bigger, stronger version of Gardner Minshew. McCord works the middle of the field well, both on crossers and seam routes. He has a strong enough arm to throw to the sidelines and down the field, but he’s not going to drive the ball like someone with an explosive arm. He puts good touch on his throws.
The 2024 season featured some interesting games. McCord had a disastrous outing vs Pitt, throwing 5 INTs in a 41-13 loss. In the regular season finale, Syracuse fell behind Miami 21-0. McCord ended up out-dueling #1 overall pick Cam Ward and SU won the game 42-38. McCord was 26-36-380 with 3 TDs and no INTs.
When studying QBs, I like to focus on decision-making, accuracy and footwork. McCord is good in all of those areas. That gives him a chance to succeed in the NFL. I think Nick Sirianni will be a fan of his aggressiveness. Think about Jalen Hurts throwing downfield to AJ Brown on 4th & 2. McCord has that kind of mindset. Can he make that throw in the NFL? We’ll find out this summer.
McCord has a good chance to beat out DTR for the #3 QB job. DTR is a much better athlete, but hasn’t been a consistently good passer in the NFL. McCord is unproven, but showed the potential to be a good passer. One of the real issues for some college QBs is that they are scared to throw into coverage at the NFL level. McCord’s aggressive nature should keep that from being a problem. He just has to make those throws work.
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Jon Gruden did a 45-minute QB school with McCord. This made me like McCord more than just tape study. He seems to be a quick learner and shows good accountability.
“Everyone knows about Kyle McCord if you follow college football. I love what he did at Syracuse in his one season there. You watch that Miami-Syracuse game and he is going head-to-head with Cam Ward (No. 1 overall draft pick to Tennessee) and that was a great game. It was real. He processes fast, he is accurate, he throws with anticipation, he has good arm talent, he sees the field really well. If you get people open, he will find them early and he will throw them open. You see the width of resilience that he went through – leaving Ohio State and then goes and elevates the Syracuse program. Really excited to have him here.”