Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly had some familiarity with each of the four Pac-12 players the team drafted over the weekend, but none more so than former Stanford tight end Zach Ertz, who was selected by the team in the second round on Friday. In November, the championship hopes for Kelly's Oregon team came to a screeching halt with an overtime loss to Stanford, one that featured a controversial game-tying touchdown caught by Ertz.
NFL Draft 2013: Chip Kelly is ‘very happy’ to add Zach Ertz to Eagles
Ertz scored a game-tying touchdown against Oregon that dashed Kelly’s national title hopes.
Steve Dykes
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Kelly was angry at the time when the incompletion was overruled and instead ruled a reception, but the new Eagles coach told Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he’s glad to have Ertz on his team rather than the opposition:
“You could never isolate him into one spot, and whenever they got the mismatch he created, he made plays,” Kelly said. “I didn’t relish coaching against him, and I’m very, very happy that he is on our side now.”
In his senior season, the 6’6 tight end finished with 69 receptions for 898 yards and six touchdowns, earning him All-American honors. Ertz told Berman that he hopes he’ll be able to contribute for the Eagles in a similar way that he did at Stanford.
“I think I just want to be the guy the team can look for to make a play at the end of the game,” Ertz said. “I got my number called very often this year, and I’m very grateful for everything that happened this year.”
Brent Celek led the way for the Eagles among tight ends in 2012, finishing the year with 57 receptions for 684 yards and a touchdown; however, the team, as a whole, struggled to score touchdowns, finishing with the fourth-fewest points scored in the NFL.
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