300 Words — Zach Ertz

Can lightning strike twice in Philly?

Zach Ertz, Eagles TE and husband of the wife of the husband of Julie Ertz, popular US Soccer star (is that joke old yet?). Ertz is a member of the incredibly productive Eagles offense, and thus is the potential beneficiary of a lot of attention from Carson Wentz, as he was last season.

Ertz’s 2018 was historic. He caught 116 passes on 156 targets. To put that in perspective, that’s 50% more targets than TE5 Jared Cook. Ertz was also 1st in receptions and 3rd in both TDs and receiving yards.

Shades of Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Grahams’ 17 and 16 TD seasons, the operative question is “can he do it again?”

Probably not... The only TE’s to eclipse 140 targets in the past 5 seasons are 2018 Zach Ertz and 2018 Travis Kelce. They’re also the only TEs in that same window to catch more than 100 passes. Expect some regression to the mean.

The Eagles have added weapons in DeSean Jackson and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and the Eagles’ other TE, promising prospect Dallas Goedert, is sure to step up his share of targets as he progresses into his second year in the league.

Ertz’s current ADP has him going early in the 3rd in PPR, 4th in non-PPR. Of course, that’s way too high, right? WRONG! Ha! Got you. If fantasy football success is a product of talent and opportunity, then Zach Ertz is in a prime position to succeed.

The Eagles targetted their TEs a league-high 35.7% of the time, which presents a tremendous opportunity, and Zach Ertz is just damn good. Drafting him means getting potential WR1 scoring out of your TE roster slot, opening up your team’s potential for scoring, even with some reasonable regression in receptions.

Ertz is worth the price of admission, folks. Keep an eye out for him as early rounds of your draft close, and don’t be afraid to go home with a premier big man on your roster.