Sproles: Ertz Is 'About To Be A Superstar'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- If I said name me a superstar NFL tight end, who would you say?
Probably Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski, maybe Jason Witten or Antonio Gates, but that's about it.
Eagles running back Darren Sproles, who played with Gates for six seasons in San Diego, says you will be able to add his teammate Zach Ertz to that short list soon.
"He has great hands, man," Sproles said of Ertz on Thursday. "His hands and his route running are just great, really. He's about to be a superstar."
Last season, in his second year, Ertz caught 58 balls for 702 yards and three touchdowns---far from superstar-type numbers. However, after playing just 50-percent of the snaps last year, the 6'5", 250-pound 24-year-old tight end is hoping to play more snaps this year thanks to his improved blocking.
"I want to be more consistent on the blocking side, first and foremost," Ertz said on the 94WIP Morning Show. "If I can do that, that's going to get me on the field more, open up some things in the passing game for the team. And just add an extra threat when we're running the ball, so they gotta think about the pass."
This offseason, Ertz hired offensive line guru Hudson Houck to help with his blocking. He also met with future Hall Of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez. And, he trained in Todd Durkin's program alongside proven NFL superstars.
"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," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said of Ertz on Tuesday.
"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. Zach is not that type," Kelly said. "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."
