Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said he sat down with Tony Gonzalez during the offseason to help him become a better tight end.

"I kind of just cold texted him one day, asking if he would be willing to meet with me, sit down and have lunch with me and luckily for me he was willing," Ertz said. "We talked about little things — the nuances of how to run a certain route, what’s advantageous against certain coverages."

That would be a huge lift for the Eagles passing game this season with Jeremy Maclin leaving the team in free agency and a pair of young, unproven wideouts set to start on the outside.

While he might not be thought of in the same class as a Gonzalez, Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski right now, that doesn't really concern Eagles head coach Chip Kelly.

That's up to you guys to figure out," Kelly said when asked what it would take to get Ertz in the echelon of the above mentioned tight ends.  "I don't really care where he's rated.  I know he's doing a great job for us.  He's got an unbelievable work ethic, has really had no offseason in terms of what he did this past ‑‑ from when our season ended against the Giants to when we started the offseason program in terms of what he did to work on his craft and make himself better not only as a receiver but as a blocker."

With the Eagles receivers unproven entering the year, Ertz could be a candidate to be the team's top pass-catcher and as Kelly described today during this press conference, he has been working hard to become a better overall player and that included spending two weeks this offseason working with former Cowboys offensive line coach Hudson Houck on his blocking.

 "A lot of guys do things and try to get with a coach to prepare them for the Combine but then they forget about that (blocking).  Zach is not that type.  He was traveling all over the country trying to make himself a better blocker, a better receiver, doing all the little teeny things that's going to make him kind of take that next step, and that's what we're excited to see where he goes with that."

Ertz finished the year strong catching four passes for 56 yards in a Week 17 win over the Giants and secured a franchise record 15 catches for 115 yards in Week 16's loss to Washington to end the season with 58 grabs for 702 yards and three touchdowns.

 

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