September 6th, 2009 9:37pm PST
Eagles tight end will fly in 2009
Celek is hoping to Soar….
When the Eagles drafted their 3rd year tight end, his beginnings in the city of brotherly love were modest to say the least. In his first season with the team, Brent Celek caught just 16 balls playing sparingly behind then starter LJ Smith. Though his beginnings were slow, he was brought in for his skill and not his brute.
The Eagles young tight end was drafted as pass catching TE out of Cincinnati were he caught 89 passes, including 14 touchdowns. His hands and size would make him an ideal fit in the West coast system. His arrival was slowed early playing behind another good pass catching tight end (Smith), but ultimately Smith's achilles (injury prone) opened the door and gave Celek his shot.
With LJ often Celek was able to start quite a bit last season (started 7 games). Being on the field more enabled the young tight end to develop a comfort level chemistry with his quarterback. By the time the playoffs rolled around last season the Eagles new tight end was ready to fly.
Last year in the post season is when Celek really blossomed in the passing game and quickly became one of Donovan McNabb’ favorite and most effective targets. In three post-season games Celek was the team's leading receiver with 19 receptions. His three touchdown receptions and 19 catches were both second only to the great Larry Fitzgerald.
With an entire offseason to prepare and the Eagles release of Smith in the offseason it was clear that Celek would be slated to start in 2009. With great experience under his belt following the teams surprising second half run, which included an appearance in the NFC Championship, the Eagles and Celek looked to be even better in 2009.
Celek is a big target (6-foot, four inches) over the middle and he’s already shown he has great hands. With a lot of speed on the outside for opposing defenses to worry about, the Eagles big man is going to have a lot of room to operate and could see a lot of great matchups throughout the season.
In this west coast system that likes to spread the field, the Eagles tight end should finish among the top-10 at his position. Over the past three seasons, McNabb has completed an average nearly 60 passes to his tight end. And while the touchdown numbers to his tight end haven’t been there in the past, seeing what Celek can do should change that quickly.
Celek made a lot of noise in the last postseason, but still doesn’t have that glamorous name in fantasy people are talking about. With players like Witten, Gates, and Clark on the boards, this receiver is likely to be overlooked in drafts and fall closer to the end. The theory is receivers normally bloom in their third year. Does this hold true for third year tight ends. Only 2009 will tell.(2009 Predictions: 52 receptions, 600-yards receiving, 7 touchdowns)
By David Ortega
Check back for more “Fantasy Talk”
Eagles tight end will fly in 2009
Celek is hoping to Soar….
When the Eagles drafted their 3rd year tight end, his beginnings in the city of brotherly love were modest to say the least. In his first season with the team, Brent Celek caught just 16 balls playing sparingly behind then starter LJ Smith. Though his beginnings were slow, he was brought in for his skill and not his brute.
The Eagles young tight end was drafted as pass catching TE out of Cincinnati were he caught 89 passes, including 14 touchdowns. His hands and size would make him an ideal fit in the West coast system. His arrival was slowed early playing behind another good pass catching tight end (Smith), but ultimately Smith's achilles (injury prone) opened the door and gave Celek his shot.
With LJ often Celek was able to start quite a bit last season (started 7 games). Being on the field more enabled the young tight end to develop a comfort level chemistry with his quarterback. By the time the playoffs rolled around last season the Eagles new tight end was ready to fly.
Last year in the post season is when Celek really blossomed in the passing game and quickly became one of Donovan McNabb’ favorite and most effective targets. In three post-season games Celek was the team's leading receiver with 19 receptions. His three touchdown receptions and 19 catches were both second only to the great Larry Fitzgerald.
With an entire offseason to prepare and the Eagles release of Smith in the offseason it was clear that Celek would be slated to start in 2009. With great experience under his belt following the teams surprising second half run, which included an appearance in the NFC Championship, the Eagles and Celek looked to be even better in 2009.
Celek is a big target (6-foot, four inches) over the middle and he’s already shown he has great hands. With a lot of speed on the outside for opposing defenses to worry about, the Eagles big man is going to have a lot of room to operate and could see a lot of great matchups throughout the season.
In this west coast system that likes to spread the field, the Eagles tight end should finish among the top-10 at his position. Over the past three seasons, McNabb has completed an average nearly 60 passes to his tight end. And while the touchdown numbers to his tight end haven’t been there in the past, seeing what Celek can do should change that quickly.
Celek made a lot of noise in the last postseason, but still doesn’t have that glamorous name in fantasy people are talking about. With players like Witten, Gates, and Clark on the boards, this receiver is likely to be overlooked in drafts and fall closer to the end. The theory is receivers normally bloom in their third year. Does this hold true for third year tight ends. Only 2009 will tell.(2009 Predictions: 52 receptions, 600-yards receiving, 7 touchdowns)
By David Ortega
Check back for more “Fantasy Talk”
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