The Eagles tight end group will look vastly different next season.

Pro Bowler Zach Ertz will return, of course, but both of his backups are gone -- Brent Celek was released, and Trey Burton signed with the Chicago Bears.

More than two weeks into free agency, the Eagles still haven't signed any tight ends to serve as the No. 2 behind -- and, in some instances, lined up with -- Ertz, pointing to the position as a clear target in next month's NFL Draft.

The Eagles might have their sights set on one player in particular -- the team is interested in South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst, a person with knowledge of the Eagles' interest told NJ Advance Media.

Eagles tight ends coach Justin Peele recently worked Hurst out one-on-one and the team sent multiple scouts to Hurst's Pro Day on March 20.

Despite their interest, it's unclear if Hurst will even be available when the Eagles first-round pick comes around at No. 32. Hurst is widely projected as the No. 1 tight end in the 2018 class, though he's neck-and-neck with South Dakota State's Dallas Goedert and Penn State's Mike Gesicki.

Hurst has good size -- 6-foot-4, 250 pounds -- and tested well at the NFL Combine. He ran a 4.67 40-yard dash (No. 3 among tight ends) with a 10-foot broad jump (No. 4). As a senior, Hurst hauled in 44 catches for 559 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for one touchdown.

Hurst's path to the NFL isn't exactly traditional-- he spent two years after high school as a professional baseball player in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system before he joined the South Carolina football team as a walk-on.

As such, Hurst will already be 25 years old when the season starts. Consider: Ertz, 27, is only two years older, but is entering his sixth NFL season.

Even so, Hurst brings skills as a pass catcher and is viewed as a capable run blocker, both skills fitting what the Eagles need in a tight end with Burton and Celek gone.

The Eagles already have Billy Brown on the roster, but he's unproven. The former undrafted free agent from Shepherd University spent the 2017 season on the practice squad. Brown is 6-4 and 241 pounds and played wide receiver in college.

As for Hurst, here's his scouting report from NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah:

Hurst is a former pro baseball player who walked on as a tight end for the Gamecocks. He has excellent size, speed and ball skills. He was primarily used as a move tight end. As a route runner, he is very smooth and quickly builds speed. At South Carolina, he wasn't asked to run a lot of traditional option routes and work back to the quarterback. However, he excels on vertical routes and crossers. He tracks the ball smoothly and has a big catch radius. He received the ball quite a bit on tight end reverses and proved plenty capable of making defenders miss or out-running them to the corner. He's more than willing as a run blocker and, while he lacks power, he does a nice job of shielding defenders. Hurst should be a Day 1 starter and has tremendous upside.

Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zsr1090@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.