NFL Player News

Tight ends have long been important in Chip Kelly's offenses, being involved in a dozen plays per game or more over Kelly's tenure at Oregon. So knowing the roles for Brent Celek, James Casey and Zach Ertz in the Eagles offense this season is pretty important. 

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Celek is considered a blocker while Casey and Ertz will battle for work as pass catchers. That's a bit of a surprise considering Celek has 280 career catches in the pros while Casey and Ertz have combined for less than 200 in their respective times in college and the pros.

But the thinking is that Celek is the least athletic of the three and might be the easiest to cover in space, making Casey and Ertz both deep sleepers this summer. There's also a decent chance both Celek and one from Casey and Ertz will play a lot in two-tight end sets. Kelly has even hinted at using three tight ends at once. 

This is an interesting spot to watch in training camp, particularly if Casey comes alive. He's a giant with some good speed and could be a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses -- not to mention a boon to whoever is quarterbacking the Eagles this year. He's on the deep sleeper list. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Eagles tight end Brent Celek is considered a blocker for the time being while James Casey and rookie Zach Ertz will compete for playing time as pass catchers. Celek has 280 career catches in the pros while Casey has 66 and Ertz had 112 over his three years at Stanford.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Tuesday he expects tight end Tony Moeaki to participate in training camp. Moeaki has struggled with knee problems for years. 

The Eagles have cleared tight end James Casey and center Jason Kelce for training camp, reports the Delaware News Journal.

Quietly, Marcedes Lewis is becoming a late-round Fantasy Football sleeper thanks in part to the high praise heaped upon him by his coaching staff. The Florida Times-Union believes Lewis will be freed up more to run routes rather than block, making him a bigger part of the Jaguars' passing game in 2013. 

"I like what Marcedes can do," offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said. "He's one of those guys who is big and strong and physical and can run block and pass protect. And he's been able to make the tough catches."

"I liked him then and after watching him on tape [as a pro], I like him even more,” added tight ends coach Ron Middleton, who scouted Lewis when he came out of college. "I think he's progressed nicely in his career. He brings some things to the table that can go hand-in-hand with this offense."

In our recent 12-team standard mock draft, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham was selected in Round 2 at No. 14 overall. That's a good spot to draft him if you want him on your team.

His Average Draft Position on CBSSports.com is No. 23 overall, and he should definitely be drafted in the second round in all formats. You have to consider Graham as an elite receiver when drafting your team. That means putting Graham in the mix with all the receivers after Calvin Johnson which includes A.J. Green, Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant and Julio Jones.

Last year, Graham had 144 Fantasy points in a standard league, which would have made him the No. 18 wide receiver. But in 2011, when he was healthy and had coach Sean Payton calling plays, he had 187 Fantasy points. That would have made him the No. 6 receiver in 2012.

A smart plan when drafting Graham is to pair him with a No. 1 running back like Trent Richardson, LeSean McCoy, Ray Rice or Alfred Morris. You can then take your first receiver in Round 3 -- Roddy White, Randall Cobb or Percy Harvin should be there -- or another running back (consider Lamar Miller, David Wilson or Montee Ball).

Graham gives you a strong advantage at a weak position like tight end, and it pays to invest a early pick on him if you want to build a strong Fantasy roster.

Packers tight end Andrew Quarless was noticeably more explosive during OTAs after taking a full year to recover from a torn ACL and MCL, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"Coming out of OTAs was the first time I really ran on it, running routes and stuff like that," Quarless said in May. "But I think it was just the preparation, getting the strength back and doing all the workouts that prepared me. They kind of threw me into it, which is not a bad thing. I kind of want to push it myself. This OTA was the first time, I've been cutting and stuff so it feels good."

Quarless' re-emergence has coach Mike McCarthy thinking Quarless will have a role in the offense in 2013.

"I really look for him to make an impact and definitely give us that player that we all felt that he was coming on there at the end of his rookie year," McCarthy said during OTAs. "He's the one guy that has shown the ability to play on the line and off the line and we're challenging the other tight ends to do so. He can clearly play all four positions for us in the tight end playbook, so he looks good."

Patriots rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld had a very good series of offseason workouts and was constantly open while displaying good hands, Paul Perillo of Patriots Football Weekly wrote. Perillo cautioned Sudfeld still has yet to put on pads and go through a contact practice and has battled injuries over his college career but thinks he can land a job with the team as a reserve tight end. 

Cowboys rookie tight end Gavin Escobar is expected to contribute right away in 2013, but his role coming into training camp isn't known, reports ESPN.

The report says the Cowboys picked him with the anticipation that Escobar's hands, height (6-foot-5) and ball skills would allow him to help right away as a receiving threat, especially in the red zone. But he needs a lot of work before he can be a reliable blocker.

And Escobar isn't just going to be given the No. 2 tight end role behind Jason Witten. He'll have to beat out James Hanna, and that's far from a guarantee. 

Patriots rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld has made a good impression so far and could be a candidate to help the team replace Aaron Hernandez, who was released Wednesday, reports ESPN.

The report says Sudfeld was solid in offseason workouts, showing off impressive pass-catching skills and dependable hands. He was undrafted out of Nevada, but he appears to be ready to compete for a roster spot.