We’re getting close to Eagles training camp 2024 so we’re taking a look at some notable camp competitions.
Dallas Goedert returns for his seventh NFL season in 2024. He’s been one of the better tight ends in the NFL in recent years but injuries have prevented him from being recognized as one of the best.
We’ll see if Goedert can manage to play a full season this year.
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His spot on the depth chart is certainly not in question. But that TE2 job is after Jack Stoll left in free agency to join the Giants this offseason. Stoll didn’t have a ton of production catching the football but he did play over 1,300 snaps with the Eagles in his three years with the team.
The Eagles were in 12 personnel (two tight ends) for 20% of their snaps last season and that could see an uptick under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. So this TE2 job is relatively important.
Here are the candidates:
C.J. Uzomah
Age: 31
Experience: Year 10
Size: 6-6, 262
NFL
The former fifth-round pick has played in 106 games with 82 starts in his NFL career. He has had two seasons with over 400 receiving yards with the most recent one coming in 2021 with the Bengals. After seven years with Cincinnati, Uzomah played the last two years with the Jets. In 2023, he played in 12 games (8 starts) and had 8 catches for 58 yards and 1 touchdown. If Uzomah wins the TE2 job, though, it’ll likely be because of his ability as an inline blocker. He’s a bigger bodied tight end and could be the blocker the Eagles want in 12 personnel.
Grant Calcaterra
Age: 25
Experience: Year 3
Size: 6-4, 240
Calcaterra is set to enter his third season with the Eagles. The 2022 sixth-round pick has been the Eagles’ TE3 the last two years but hasn’t gotten a ton of opportunities. He has a total of 9 catches for 120 yards in his first two NFL seasons. He’s known as more of a pass-catching threat and in the spring was targeted a ton. It’s also worth noting that head coach Nick Sirianni mentioned Calcaterra when asked about the WR3 job — his point was that the fifth skill guy isn’t always a receiver.
Albert Okwuegbunam
Age: 26
Experience: Year 5
Size: 6-5, 258
The Eagles traded for Albert O just before the start of the 2023 season and kept him on the 53-man roster as the fourth tight end until he was placed on IR in late December. Okwuegbunam played a total of 57 snaps with the Eagles in 2023 and saw just one target. In his three years in Denver, he had 54 catches for 546 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’s not known for his blocking.
E.J. Jenkins
Age: 25
Experience: Year 1
Size: 6-6, 245
The Eagles signed Jenkins, a converted wide receiver, to their practice squad in November last year after the UDFA from Georgia Tech was waived by the Jets at final cuts. This spring, Jenkins made some impressive catches and it’ll be fascinating to see if he can do that when the pads go on this summer. At GT in 2022, Jenkins had 17 catches for 316 yards and 3 touchdown. He spent his 2021 season at South Carolina after beginning his career at St. Francis University.
McCallan Castles
Age: 24
Experience: Rookie
Size: 6-4, 250
The Eagles didn’t have a big undrafted class this year but Castles made the cut. After two years at Cal, Castles finished out his college career with Tennessee and had a decent senior season with 22 catches for 283 and 5 touchdowns. He has some tools.
Outlook
It will really depend on what the Eagles want from their No. 2 tight end. If they want that guy to just be a blocker, then Uzomah has the experience and the coaching staff will likely trust him with that role. But in Year 3, Calcaterra might offer more juice as a pass-catching option. His development is something to monitor this summer at training camp.
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