Players who have stood out in NFL preseason

#7 Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles

There was this thing going on at the draft in April, where people went crazy because the Eagles selected Dallas Goedert in the second round one pick ahead of the Cowboys who had just lost Jason Witten to retirement, putting them in desperate need for a tight-end and a guy with the same name as their city looking like the perfect match.

While I thought that was overblown and I don’t even know if they wouldn’t have gone with Texas O-lineman Connor Williams anyway, America’s team could have definitely used a big target in the passing game like Goedert. In fact, I think the South Dakota State product would start for almost half the teams in the league.

The 6’5”, 255-pound rookie was my number two tight-end prospect because of his frame obviously, the speed to stress defenses down the seams, the ability to go up and dominate on 50-50 balls as well as the all-around skill-set he presented with the multitude of ways his coaches used him in college.

Through the first three weeks of preseason, Goedert has continued to showcase his natural receiving abilities, as he has totaled 149 yards, catching balls from third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld for the most part.

The rookie TE creates easy separation on deep over and out-routes. Not only has he run away from guys in man-coverage, but he also showed football IQ in week one versus the Steelers, when he slowed down on four verticals out of a two-by-two set against cover-three, to not lead the throw into the middle safety. I saw a couple of drops when he didn’t look the ball in and shifted his eyes downfield too early, but I have no concern whatsoever with his hands and the effort level as a blocker is unquestionable.

With Zach Ertz as the go-to guy at the position it will be tough for Goedert to receive a ton of targets, but he should at least fill the role of the departed Trey Burton in year one.