Eagles’ Dallas Goedert, held without a catch in Week 1, aims to bounce back Thursday
The tight end was a fantasy-league dud against the Patriots. “I’m not going to bench myself [in fantasy competition], that’s for sure,” Goedert said.
After finishing Sunday’s season-opening Eagles victory over the New England Patriots without a reception, tight end Dallas Goedert drew the ire of fantasy football owners everywhere, except for one: himself.
“Yeah, they weren’t too happy with me,” Goedert said Tuesday before the team’s walk-through. “People were yelling at me about stuff like that. But I don’t really care about that. I had myself on fantasy. I didn’t win, probably because of myself. So, move on to next week.”
Goedert ranked third on the Eagles in receiving yards (702) last season behind wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Quarterback Jalen Hurts targeted his tight end only once on Sunday. In the last four seasons since his rookie year, Goedert has had only one other game in which he finished without a catch (a 27-24 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sept. 22, 2019).
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But the Eagles still emerged with a 25-20 win on Sunday, which was Goedert’s top priority. His lack of productivity came because of a confluence of factors, he said, that included the Patriots defense chip-blocking Goedert off the line of scrimmage and double-teaming him in coverage.
However, Goedert acknowledged that the Eagles offense was partially to blame, too, saying that the team would have wanted some of those plays back in which he either was the intended receiver or wide open. Regardless of what happened in the opener, coach Nick Sirianni understands the importance of getting the ball in Goedert’s hands going forward.
“We can’t go a game without getting him the football,” Sirianni said after the win. “He’s too good of a playmaker, but there are some things that the Patriots did that made it difficult for us to be able to get him some quick, easy touches.”
Goedert’s experience against the Patriots has him feeling a bit of secondhand déjà vu. In last season’s 38-35 Week 1 win against the Lions, Smith finished the game without a reception on four targets. Smith didn’t hang his head for long — the following week against the Vikings, he caught the first pass of the game and went 7-for-7 on his targets for 80 yards. Two of those receptions were consecutive chunk plays that totaled 35 yards to begin a scoring drive.
The following week, Smith dazzled in the most productive game of his NFL career. He racked up eight receptions on 12 targets for 169 yards and a touchdown.
“DeVonta didn’t have a catch Week 1, still had 1,000 yards, [95] catches,” Goedert said of Smith’s overall productivity last season. “That’s something I’m not too worried about. My goals are a lot more than just my personal goals. I want to win. I want this team to win. I want a Super Bowl. That’s what I care about most.”
Reflecting on Smith’s start to last season on Wednesday, Sirianni said that the way weeks 2 and 3 unfolded wasn’t necessarily intentional.
“Last year, sure, did we try to get him one or two, make sure we get him one or two early?” Sirianni asked. “Of course, to make sure that they know the ball can go anywhere. ... You’re the offense. So you always want to attack and be on offense. But also, you don’t want to force it, either. And so I think of what just happened there was, that just happened naturally.”
The Eagles will aim to get Goedert and the rest of their offense going when they return to Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday for their home opener against the Vikings. In Week 1, Minnesota fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-17. The Vikings have a new defensive coordinator in veteran coach Brian Flores, so while the Eagles may not have a bevy of tape to evaluate from his new gig, they can search through the archives of his former stops to prepare to face his scheme.
Goedert doesn’t have a crystal ball and can’t predict exactly how the Vikings defense will attempt to limit him in the passing game. However, he’s planning to take a chance on himself again in fantasy this week.
“I’m not going to bench myself, that’s for sure,” Goedert said. “Hopefully nobody else does, either.”
The Eagles play the Minnesota Vikings in the home opener. Join Eagles beat reporters Josh Tolentino, EJ Smith, and Olivia Reiner as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.