NFL Draft Results: Eagles trade ahead of Cowboys to pick Dallas Goedert

With the 49th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select ... South Dakota State tight end Dallas Goedert. (Pronounced: GOD-ert).

The Eagles traded up three spots to make this pick. Howie Roseman sent No. 52 and No. 169 (fifth-round pick) to the Indianapolis Colts to move up one spot ahead of the Cowboys, who just found out that Jason Witten is retiring today. Scooooped!

Tight end was a big need for the Birds with Zach Ertz being the only tight end to return from the 2017 season. Philadelphia released 33-year-old veteran Brent Celek and lost Trey Burton to the Chicago Bears in free agency.

Doug Pederson likes to heavily utilize tight ends in his offense, so there will be playing time available for Goedert. It’ll be interesting to see how the reigning Super Bowl champions use the combination of Ertz and him. This combination has the potential to be a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses.

Here’s what BGN’s lead draft writer Ben Natan previously wrote about Goedert.

When talking about small school prospects, they usually need to dominate the competition to get the NFL’s attention. Dallas Goedert dominated at SDSU with 164 catches, over 2,300 yards and 18 touchdown catches in the last two years. Goedert’s size (6’5” and 256 pounds) and athleticism made him too much to handle at the FCS level. Goedert is more a receiver than a blocker and has work to do on his route running; but he flashes immense talent as a pass catcher and teams will love him as a mismatch weapon at the next level.

Key Stat: Career Average of 15.1 Yards a catch over 198 catches.

NFL Comparison: Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles

Here’s a scouting report on Goedert via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.

Overview: Goedert is a very talented pass catching tight end with the ability to work all three levels of the field. His ball focus and ability to make the spectacular catch will make him the darling of fans and media throughout the draft process, but, he still has work to do. Goedert dominated a lower level of competition and will have to prove he can uncover and block against bigger, more explosive athletes as a pro. The size, speed and talent is there for him to succeed as a very good combo tight end if he works and plays with a little more urgency.

NFL Comparison: Zach Ertz

Spider graph via Mockdraftable:

Remaining Eagles draft picks

2nd - No. 49 - TE Dallas Goedert

4th - No. 125 (from Baltimore Ravens)

4th - No. 130 (from Minnesota Vikings)

6th - No. 206

7th - No. 250

Eagles top remaining needs

Running back

Offensive tackle

Safety

Nickel cornerback

Punt returner

Punter

2018 NFL Draft schedule

• Day 1: Round 1 – 10 minutes
• Day 2: Round 2 – 7 Minutes, Round 3 – 5 Minutes Per Pick
• Day 3: Rounds 4-6 – 5 Minutes Per Pick, Round 7 - 4 Minutes Per Pick

(Compensatory picks = 4 minutes)