Zach Ertz is graduated and ready to play football

Zach Ertz was one of only two rookies to miss virtually the Eagles entire offseason program so far, the other being Jordan Poyer. The reason is an NFL rule that bars new draftees from joining their teams prior to their college graduation.

Most schools graduate around late May so it's not issue for the majority of guys. However, Ertz's school, Stanford, did not graduate until this past Sunday. According to PE.com, Ertz hopped a red eye to Philadelphia direct from his graduation.

"It was tough to see all my teammates out here doing football activities, but at the end of the day there was nothing that I could really do about it," Ertz said. "So I kind of took it with a grain of salt and studied the playbook as much as I can and I'm just really excited to be out here now."

Ertz was allowed to have a playbook, but could not have any contact with coaches. So while he should be familiar with the plays, he still won't have the experience of working with the team until training camp starts next month.

But for now, he's in the team's conditioning program, he can meet with his coaches and can at least get to know his teammates a littler better. It'll be a summer of catching up for the 2nd round pick, but he says he'll be happy to contribute any way he can.

"I just want to help the team win in any way I can, whether that's special teams or on offense," said Ertz. "I think there's enough talent on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball to be a winning team and make the playoffs. That's my only goal right now."