Dallas Goedert steps into an Eagles leadership role, hoping younger players will push him to the next level

Dallas Goedert has been hitting the film room — but not to watch his own tape.

The tight end is making a conscious effort to take on more of a leadership role. It’s early in Eagles training camp, but he has tried to keep his younger teammates in mind as he goes through the practices and meetings.

“I watch their clips, I tell them what I see, I tell them what I’m thinking when I’m running that play,” Goedert said. “It’s always keeping football in my mind, thinking about what I would do if I was in their position during their plays.”

In his mind, the improvement of his teammates can only make Goedert better.

Goedert is already considered one of the top tight ends in the NFL. However, he has yet to earn Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors. He played backup to Zach Ertz until 2021. But after stepping into the starting role, he was hampered by injuries through the 2022 season.

In the 12 games Goedert played last season, he had 55 receptions for 702 yards and three touchdowns. He finished seventh in yardage among NFL tight ends despite playing the fewest number of games of the top 20 tight ends. However, his time on IR disqualified him from the Pro Bowl ballot.

Pro Bowl honors and a Super Bowl win are the goals, but Goedert is taking it one day at a time, just as coach Nick Sirianni has preached. He’s scaling the mountain slowly, but if he improves each day, he’ll reach the peak, he said.

“I just tried to pick one thing each day and try to get better at that and focus on that for the day,” Goedert said. “And you stack enough of it, and I should be able to improve in a lot of aspects.”

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Goedert identified a few points he is focusing on, starting with the mental side. He’s studying the playbook, which is new after the departure of Shane Steichen and the hiring of Brian Johnson as offensive coordinator. It’s “kind of the same, kind of different” from Steichen’s systems, and there definitely are some new wrinkles.

They’re trying to install it quickly, but it’s early in camp. Even so, Jalen Hurts has shown an uncanny ability to know what’s coming, and Goedert is drawing inspiration from his quarterback’s advanced thinking. Goedert wants to know where center Jason Kelce is going to point before he does it, whom to attack, and how to attack.

Other focuses include staying low when blocking, getting better at his breaks, and fine-tuning his routes. Goedert took the initiative at minicamp to confer with wide receivers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Greg Ward, who are some of the best at route-running.

Kelce has said he would like to see Goedert improve on the three touchdowns he scored last season. However, Goedert indicated he understands that the run game works for the Eagles right now and is OK with whatever it takes for his team to win. But that doesn’t mean his day won’t come.

“If that ever stops, maybe we can go to me,” Goedert said. “I’m going to keep working on my craft, so when the opportunities come, I can make more plays on them.”

With so many returning to the Eagles offense, Goedert has big expectations for this season, personally and for the team. And it’s not just the veterans who have impressed him.

While less experienced tight ends are fighting for reps and ultimately spots on the roster, Goedert will continue to help, hoping the younger players will sharpen him.

“The better they can be, the better they’re going to push me to become,” Goedert said. “So I feel like leading them and helping them is also helping myself. It works hand in hand.”