There has never been a doubt in Dallas Goedert's mind that he had it in him to be among the best of the best NFL tight ends. A second-round draft pick in 2018, Goedert shared time with Zach Ertz and he understood that to earn playing time he would have to show the coaching staff that he could be a physical, effective in-line blocker in addition to a playmaking tight end. He did that.
As his playing time and production increased, Goedert realized that he had an advantage over defenders covering him – he was bigger than defensive backs and he was faster than linebackers. So, in the course of time, Goedert translated those skills into becoming one of the best big-play tight ends in the league – since 2020, Goedert has produced the fifth-highest receiving average (12.7 yards per catch) and receiving first-down percentage (66.7%) among NFL tight ends, while also ranking sixth among his position group in receiving yards per game (47.7) during that stretch.
The Eagles understood what they have in Goedert, too, and part of the master plan this season was to transition the tight end position. Now, they have hammered out a deal with Goedert that reportedly makes him one of the highest-paid players at his position in the NFL. The Eagles have a bright present and future at the position with Goedert, and are excited to see what they have in rookie Jack Stoll, and first-year man Tyree Jackson.
Goedert feels great about being in Philadelphia with an Eagles team he knows is heading in the right direction.
"Today is a really special day. It's a day you dream about when you get into the league," Goedert said at his Friday press conference at the NovaCare Complex. "I'm really thankful for the organization – Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie, Jake (Rosenberg), everybody who believed in me, Howie (Roseman). For them to give a kid from South Dakota a contract, obviously it means a lot and I'm just really excited to stay in Philadelphia longer and hopefully go out and win a lot of games here.
"I believe really highly in myself. I believe I'm one of the best tight ends in the league and I'm always going to have that mindset, but to be paid up there, I feel like the respect that the team showed me it's just really cool that they see the hard work that I've put in day in and day out, to believe that I deserve, earned it, and all that. It's a really cool feeling that they see what I can do."
This season, Goedert – who Head Coach Nick Sirianni said is expected to play Sunday against the Saints after suffering a concussion in last week's game in Denver – leads all NFL tight ends in receiving first-down percentage (75.9%). He also ranks third among his position leaguewide in receiving average (14.8), fourth in yards after the catch per reception (6.8), and eighth in receiving yards (429). Over the last four games (since Week 7), Goedert ranks second among NFL tight ends in yards per reception (15.2). He also owns the third-most receiving yards (213) and receiving first downs (10) among tight ends in that span.
"Really excited for him. He's the type of guy that we just think the world of him. We think he's a great football player, great on and off the field," Sirianni said. "And just the type of guy you want to succeed and to sign contracts like this, right, and to keep in the building. So, really excited for him and his family and just the organization that we could get this done. He does a lot of things really well. I think that's what's special about Dallas is that he's not a receiving tight end, he's not a blocking tight end, he can do both. There's not a lot of guys like that, that are really exceptional at being able to create mismatches in the pass game and also get their job done in the run game.
"So, he's shown that for some time now and he's definitely shown that to me in the short time I've been here."
Talk of a new deal for Goedert has been a subject in the media and among fans since before the 2021 season began, so Goedert kept his focus on playing and working hard with his new coaching staff. The wait – and the weight off his shoulders – is over.
"I tried not to think about it too much. I tried not to worry about it and just knew that if kept doing what I knew I could do on the field, this day would come eventually," he said. "Shoot, it was well worth the wait. It feels pretty incredible to be here right now, to be signed for four more years. I'm ecstatic, it's surreal, it's hard to believe. I'm really excited for the opportunity to lead this team in different ways and just continue to grow with these young guys."
