Technically the backup at his position? Yes. Enough usage to warrant a weekly start? Yes. One injury away from being a locked-in, top-five fantasy football option at his position? Yes.
No, I’m not talking about Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt, I’m talking about Philadelphia’s ironically named tight end, Dallas Goedert.
Goedert opened the 2020 campaign on fire, with a stat-line of 8 receptions, 101 yards, and a touchdown. He received nine targets to Zach Ertz’s seven targets and was drastically more productive when given the opportunity.
Watching this game, I was honestly in disbelief at the number of injuries that the Eagles have sustained at this point of the year. The offensive line folded like a Walmart lawn chair under Washington’s pass rush and left Carson Wentz looking to get the ball out of his hands as quick as humanly possible. It’s looking more and more like the Eagles could be taking a major step backward.
What does this mean for fantasy purposes? It means negative game scripts, quick passes, and more late game situations where the run game is abandoned. Who benefits from this outlook? The tight ends. Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.
I think this is the rare situation where an offense can have two top 12 tight ends, based both on the lack of wide receiver talent and scheme fit. The 12 personnel set that Doug Peterson utilized on Sunday was nothing new. Last year, the Eagles ran the single most 2 tight end sets in the league at 52 percent of total snaps. No other team was even close to this figure, with the Vikings clocking in at 34 percent in second place. Outside of Greg Ward’s five receptions, no other Eagles pass catcher caught more than two passes against Washington.
This offense is going to run through the tight end, and there are two talented tight ends in town to help Wentz move the chains. If you have any sort of question mark at tight end, make Goedert a top priority on the waiver wire if you are one of the 44 percent of leagues where he’s available. He is a legitimate option with Ertz in the lineup, and a league winner, if Ertz misses time.
