PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz finds himself in elite company after two weeks of the 2017 NFL season.
He ranks third in receiving yards (190) behind Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown and Minnesota Vikings receiver Adam Thielen, and ahead of the likes of Tyreek Hill, Julio Jones and Michael Crabtree. You have to scroll down to eighth to find the next-closest tight end, Jason Witten at 156 receiving yards.
Ertz isn't exactly known for his fast starts. The last two seasons in particular, he revved up as the year went along and didn't hit fifth gear until December. A main difference this time around is continuity at the quarterback position. Since being drafted in the second round in 2013 out of Stanford, Ertz has gone from Michael Vick to Nick Foles to Mark Sanchez to Sam Bradford to Wentz. Just about every year, and in some cases during the season, he's had to start from scratch in the chemistry department. Now he has a steady battery mate.
"Having the same quarterback for a [consecutive] year obviously is great, having it carry over, especially a guy as talented as Carson," said Ertz. "Last year was kind of scramble mode in the sense that the first week leading up to the first game we were trying to get every route versus every single look because we had never run it with Carson -- he was out all preseason and when he was there he was with the threes so we never worked with him. This year we started out fast."
The duo built up some momentum late in 2016. Wentz and Ertz had trouble synching up for a good portion of the season. Things began to click down the stretch, as Ertz averaged eight catches for 89 yards over the last five games with three touchdowns. He has recorded 90-plus yards in three straight games, which is the longest active streak in the league.
A loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on December 4 proved to be the turning point. Ertz was criticized for sidestepping Vontaze Burfict instead of blocking him as the linebacker pursued Wentz on a scramble. From that point forward, some staff members noticed an uptick in his physicality.
"Absolutely. I remember after the Cincinnati game, there were multiple times of him being aggressive," said offensive coordinator Frank Reich. "It's always a fine line. You always want to be aggressive and be physical and be smart. But I've played with a lot of great players who will step out of bounds rather than take a hit when they know they got the first down. I mean, I have played with great players: Barry Sanders, he never took a hit on the sideline and no one ever called him a coward. Sometimes you have to be smart, too.
"I get the other side of that. You know, you've got to sometimes sacrifice your body and lay it out. And I have never questioned Zach in that regard. Zach plays to win. Zach is a winner. He plays aggressive. He runs his routes aggressive. He's aggressive to the ball. So I've never thought anything other than that."
While not typically mentioned among the league's elite tight ends, he reached 3,000 receiving yards in his 63rd career game, tying Tony Gonzalez for the ninth-fastest pace for a tight end since the merger. With a team-high 13 catches on 18 targets through two games, early signs suggest that Ertz is on track for a career year that should push him into the upper-echelon.
"I'm just trying to go out there and make plays when the ball is in the air. I think if the ball is near me I'm going to catch it. I think I can get open against most, a lot of people in this league, I think I've proven that throughout my career," he said.
"I don't know if [the production] will be that high each and every week but I think there will a point in the game, whether it's third down or in the red zone and we need to make a play, hopefully I'm the guy they think of that they want to go to."