The Philadelphia Eagles have found a tight end they love in Brent Celek. Celek came onto the scene two years ago proving he was the pass catching tight end the Eagles have been looking for. The Eagles last year went out and spent a mid round pick on a speedy tight end named Clay Harbor. These two were the Eagles tight ends last year and they seem to like where they stand with them, plus they are young.
Even with those two guys they went out to search for more depth and veteran experiance. The biggest thing they were looking for was a better blocking tight end. The one problem with Celek and Harbor is that they aren't the best blockers in the world. So the Eagles decided to find some who can block.
The Eagles have brought in a lot of tight ends that they liked in recent years, probably more then what their roster can hold and thats what they seem to have this year as well. It will be interesting how many tight ends the Eagles will keep this year they have experimented with two and three tight ends last season, but who knows if they will be able to waste a roster spot for a third.
Brent Celek: Celek like we said came onto the scene two years ago and proved he could be a star tight end. He has the ability to be an elite pass catching tight end and proved that his first year as a starter. His second year didn't go as well though. Last year Celek was forced to block more due to a dismal offensive line and it hurt his numbers. Michael Vick also doesn't like to throw to his tight ends as much so that hurt him as well. Celek has proved he can be a star tight end though and Vick will have to use him more in the offense. With Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin on the outside Celek has plenty of room in the middle to make plays and Vick will need to throw him the ball a bit more. Celek also battled through some injuries as well during the season. Bottom line though Vick will need to look for Celek more as hopefully the offensive line is good to go, but Celek will also need to work on his blocking as well.
Clay Harbor: Harbor was a mid round draft pick last year and as the season went on he saw more playing time. Harbor was a small school guy so it was a big jump from there to the NFL. Everyone knew he had the skill to be a good pass catching tight end, what everyone worried about was his blocking. He impressed everyone in camp with the way he could play a big role in the passing game, but when it came time for Harbor to block, everyone was worried. Due to his lack of blocking Harbor was inactive for the first few games of the year while the Eagles continued to work on his blocking. The good news was he was able to get better at it and had some very good blocks during key plays later in the year. Harbor will be the Eagles second tight end this year and will also be lining up as a wide reviver sometimes as well.
Cornelius Ingram: Ingram is a guy that i feel really badly for, he was an unbelievable receiving tight end, but knee injuries piled up and it has really hurt his game. Ingram isn't expected to make the team and looks to be just another camp body. It is unfortunate but thats what happen when you play this game injuries can really hurt your skills and thats what happened to Ingram.
Donald Lee: Lee is coming into the Eagles after winning a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. Lee is a veteran tight end that has been in the game for a long time and is a very reliable tight end as well. The thing he does best is blocking something the Eagles top two starting tight ends aren't very good at, and thats what makes this signing interesting. Maybe the Eagles are thinking about going with three tight ends so they can have a solid blocking tight end. It is something that a tight end really needs to have and it would be nice to have one. Lee is going to need to have a good preseason and show that he deserves to be on this team though.
The Eagles seem pretty set at tight end the only debate is how many they will keep. They have to solid receiving tight ends, but what they lack is blocking. The third possible tight end for the Eagles is a solid blocker and if they find that important then expect Lee to be on the team as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment