2021 NFL draft: Eagles may have to wait till next year to replace Zach Ertz

This is the fourth of an 11-part series on the 2021 NFL draft in which, for the third straight year, Ben Fennell breaks down the draft for The Inquirer. Ben is an Emmy award-winning producer, editor, and researcher across several media platforms, most notably NFL Network and ESPN College Football. This will be his seventh draft for the NFL Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @benfennell_NFL.

Before the Eagles traded out of the sixth spot in late March, the vast majority of mock drafts had them taking Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.

It seemed like a logical choice. The Eagles had hung a “for sale” sign on 30-year-old Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz. And Pitts, an Archbishop Wood product, and far and away the best tight end in this month’s draft, would’ve provided an attractive weapon for second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“The ceiling with Pitts, I think he can emerge as the best tight end in the National Football League,” the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said before the trade. “He has that type of dynamic ability.

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“He and [Dallas] Goedert would’ve given Hurts two guys that can uncover and get favorable matchups in the middle of the field and get easy completions.”

Unless the Eagles trade back up from their current first-round perch at 12, which is very unlikely, Pitts will be catching passes for somebody else this season.

What the Eagles will do at tight end remains to be seen. They currently have six of them on their roster, including Goedert and lame-duck Ertz. But only one of the other four — Jason Croom — has an NFL regular-season catch to his name.

Ertz still has one year left on his contract, and the Eagles could hold on to him until he becomes a free agent next year. But Ertz’s relationship with the team seems beyond repair. He wants out and it serves no purpose to force him to stay. The team eventually will oblige him, even if it means settling for a late-round pick in a trade or just releasing him.

As far as a replacement for Ertz, this year’s draft doesn’t have a lot of appealing options. “It’s not a particularly deep tight-end class,” Ben Fennell said. “There’s literally only nine or 10 draftable tight ends.”

Since the NFL reduced the draft to seven rounds in 1993, there never have been fewer than 10 tight ends taken (in 2005 and 2014). The most tight ends drafted? Twenty-four in 2002.

The talent falloff this year after Pitts is steep. He is expected to be the only tight end to go in the first round. Last year, no tight ends went in the first round, but nine went in the next three rounds. Nine tight ends won’t be going in the first four rounds this year.

“It’s not a great class at all,” Fennell said. “Next year is very, very deep, but not this year.”

Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth, who played in just four games last season because of a shoulder injury, could be the second tight end off the board. He’ll likely go in the second round. Freiermuth had 23 catches in just four games before the injury forced him to shut down.

1. Kyle Pitts, Florida, 6-5, 245, Round 1 (4-6)

2. Brevin Jordan, Miami, 6-3, 247, Round 3

3. Pat Freiermuth, Penn State, 6-5, 251, Round 2

4. Hunter Long, Boston College, 6-5, 253, Rounds 3-4

5. Kenny Yeboah, Ole Miss, 6-4, 250, Rounds 4-5

Kyle Pitts

Florida

6-5, 245

Hands: 10 5/8 inches

40-time: 4.44 seconds

Vertical jump: 33 ½ inches

225 bench: n/a

Fennell’s take: “Kyle looks like a receiver playing the tight end position. He has that tall, angular frame. Big wingspan, great speed, broad shoulders, great catch radius. He’s played in the slot and out wide in some isolation situations. But half of his snaps have been as an inline tight end.

“The perception that he’s not a blocker has been created because he’s such a prolific pass-catcher and because of the way he looks. He doesn’t look like a guy who is going to be very imposing. But he has functional blocking ability. He tries hard and loses slowly. In the tight end room, that’s written on the wall: lose slowly. If you get that from your tight end, you have a chance.

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“But it’s his receiving skills that make him one of the best tight ends to come out in several years. He’s a matchup weapon down the field and in the red zone. He’s everything you want. It’s tough to find a height-weight-speed comparison on paper. Maybe [Hall of Fame wide receiver] Calvin Johnson. Realistically, he’s probably a Darren Waller or Jared Cook type of player. But the way tight ends are used these days, if he goes to a creative offense, he could be the best tight end we’ve ever seen. He or [LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr] Chase will be the first non-quarterback off the board. He’s that good.”

Round projection: 1 (4-6)

Brevin Jordan

Miami

6-3, 247

Hands: n/a

40-time: 4.64 seconds

Vertical jump: 31 inches

225 bench: 17 reps

Fennell’s take: “Jordan is a little bit more of a traditional tight end. He fits the ‘move’ tight end role to a T. Being 6-3 and just under 250 pounds, he’s that Delanie Walker-Charles Clay-Randy McMichael type of guy where you want to move him around a lot. He’s big. He’s physical. He’s a good yards-after-the-catch guy. He can win down the field. He’s a good effort-blocker as well. And he can block a little bit inline. But he’s a guy who probably is mainly going to block out on the perimeter for people. Didn’t have tons of production at Miami. Never had more than 38 catches. But they’ve had some issues there at quarterback and coaching that contributed to that.”

Round projection: 3

Hunter Long

Boston College

6-5, 253

Hands: 9½ inches

40-time: 4.63 seconds

Vertical jump: 32½ inches

225 bench: n/a

Fennell’s take: “Long is a more traditional ’Y’ tight end for the NFL. He was his team’s leading receiver last year. Had 57 catches and 5 touchdowns. He was in a grind-it-out, pro-style offense for a couple of years with Steve Addazio. A lot of play-action and some pro-style stuff. Then the coach from Ohio State [Jeff Hafley] comes in and he spreads it out, and Long was one of the top receivers on the team. So he’s shown he can play in a variety of schemes. He’s a quarterback’s best friend. I think he had three drops on 150-something targets in his career.

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“He just doesn’t look great, and he doesn’t test great. He’s kind of lumbering. Like an Austin Hooper. That type of tight end who has some waddle to him. He doesn’t run past people, but he’s going to make all of those catches for you on third down and in the red zone. He’s a very good blocker and will be a special teams contributor. If you’re looking for a true ‘Y’ tight end, he’s what you want.”

Round projection: 3-4