Fantasy Football 2019 NFL Player Profile: Zach Ertz

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 06: Zach Ertz #86 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts in the fourth quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on January 06, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Football Player Profile: Zach Ertz

Worst Case Scenario

Have you looked at the current Eagles offensive players? Just in the receiving corps Philly added DeSean Jackson and made the effort to draft rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in the second round of the NFL draft. They didn’t spend a top 60 pick on a player they don’t have plans for, even if it’s not a massive role in his rookie year. You now have Jackson, Whiteside, Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery. That’s a crowded room on that side. It may not bite directly into targets for Ertz, but they also traded for running back Jordan Howard and drafted Miles Sanders four picks ahead of Whiteside. This offense is loaded.

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Let’s not forget they still have second-year tight end Dallas Goedert on this team as well. Yet another top 50 pick for this offense, Goedert really started to play more consistent snaps later in the season. From Week 12 on, Goedert was on the field for at least 52 percent of the snaps. Some of that may have had to do with running more two tight end sets to help protect Wentz before he was done for the year and then helping Foles. Whatever the reason was, Ertz saw some volatile production after that.

In those five games, he did have two games with at least nine receptions and 83 yards. The other three totally crushed you as they were 38, 22 and 15 yards on a total of 11 receptions. Goedert didn’t eclipse three targets in those games, but you have to wonder if some of his targets were taken from Ertz. Alshon Jeffery and Golden Tate(acquired via trade last year) were both active as well, so we may have started to see a glimpse of a bit of a crowded offense.

Main Takeaway

I’m not trying to say Ertz will not still have a very productive season, but I’m all the way out on the draft cost. I would personally take George Kittle ahead of him and it’s not that much of a discussion in my mind. What Philadelphia is doing for their team is incredibly smart. They believe they have their franchise quarterback and now is the time to try to get that next Super Bowl title.

They’re surrounding him with a diverse cast of players to distribute the ball to and make his life easier. They added free agents, spent high draft capital and made trades to add to the offense. That’s great for the real-life version of the Eagles, but it’s the polar opposite of what we want for fantasy. Volume is always king. I want my players seeing as many targets as possible(seem obvious, I know) but with four receivers, another tight end and running backs all vying for touches, Ertz may find himself taking a step back this year. I’m not spending a premium pick on him.

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