This series breaks down the Eagles’ key free agents through the lens of the 2025 season. I will get into what the film showed, how each player fits the scheme, and whether I want them to return. If I include cap numbers in the summary, they are from Spotrac, and all data is via SumerSports. As always, I’ll use film clips to support my work. I’ll be releasing a video breakdown on Patreon, too.
Previously in this series: Reed Blankenship | Jaelen Phillips
Dallas Goedert is the most uncomfortable free agent decision on the Eagles’ offensive side of the ball this offseason. The cap situation is pretty confusing, so I’m going to try to focus on the film rather than the cap stuff, as it seems there is stuff going on behind the scenes with his contract. Statistically, he delivered an elite scoring season, with 60 receptions, 591 yards, and 11 touchdowns across 15 games, operating as a primary red-zone weapon and a trusted outlet for Jalen Hurts in high-leverage situations. I feel like we all know what Dallas Goedert is like as a player, as he’s been around a while, so I’ll try to focus on the 2025 film only here.
Positives
Red-Zone Efficiency and Quarterback Trust
Whatever the broader concerns about his play, Goedert’s touchdown production in 2025 was outstanding. 11 receiving touchdowns from the tight end position is elite output, and they were not all scheme-related (although a fair few were). He understands leverage against zone coverages inside the 20, and consistently gave Hurts a reliable answer when the offense needed a scoring solution. He was a huge part of the Eagles’ offense in the red zone.
The quarterback trust factor also matters in ways that are easy to undervalue. Hurts looks genuinely comfortable throwing to Goedert in tight windows and scramble situations. I think Hurts can struggle with receivers that he doesn’t trust. The chemistry that Hurts and Goedert have won’t transfer immediately to a new tight end, and certainly not to a rookie. In an offense built around timing and a quarterback who is particular about his reads, familiarity has real functional value. Even in moments where Goedert’s separation wasn’t elite, he remained a quarterback-friendly target who understood spacing and leverage well enough to hold his role.
Positional Scarcity
Tight end remains one of the hardest positions to upgrade quickly through the draft. The Eagles’ current depth at the position is already thin, which increases Goedert’s short-term practical value, regardless of any longer-term concerns about his trajectory. Rookies at the position routinely take a year or two before they become reliable starters, and there is no guarantee the Eagles find a Day 2 option who develops fast enough to prevent a meaningful step backward in 2026. The Eagles are taking a huge risk if they move Goedert and look to the draft to replace him.
Negatives
Blocking Regression and Effort
This is the central problem, and it’s significant. Goedert’s blocking was the aspect of his game that elevated him above the receiving tight end category and justified his contract as a complete player. He was never a receiving tight end. He was always an all-around tight end. That distinction is eroding. His in-line run-blocking effectiveness dropped noticeably in 2025, and the film showed it across multiple dimensions.
He had bad technique, anchor, and, at times, effort, all of which looked below his previous standards. His run blocking grades fell sharply compared to earlier seasons, landing near the bottom tier among tight ends who play regular snaps. So, it wasn’t just the eye test. Honestly, I had a huge issue with his effort at times.
This matters a lot. It is a fundamental shift in his player profile. A tight end who cannot hold up as an in-line blocker is no longer a complete tight end. He becomes a receiving tight end with limitations in the run game, and that is materially different and less valuable. It changes what the offense can do with him in the formation, narrows personnel flexibility, and becomes a huge issue with the new scheme.
If a tight end can’t hold up in the run game, this new scheme will struggle to succeed.
Personally, I think he had some effort issues as a receiver, too. It wasn’t just an issue in the run game.
Separation and Down-to-Down Consistency
The touchdown total was excellent. The overall receiving performance between the 20s was more ordinary than that number implies. There were extended stretches in the middle of the season where Goedert’s influence on the game felt pretty average, and the separation wasn’t sharp enough to threaten defenses consistently, and the after-catch burst wasn’t creating extra yardage like it used to. The scoring production was real and valuable, but it overstated how dominant his overall play was across a full game’s worth of snaps.
That gap between touchdown production and broader game impact is worth taking seriously because touchdowns are volatile from year to year in ways that overall receiving efficiency is not. He did have some pretty easy schemed-open touchdowns, too. They were not all dominant reps.
Age
Goedert enters his early thirties with a meaningful injury history, placing him squarely in the window when performance can decline without much warning. The physical demands of in-line blocking, the part of his game already in visible decline, typically don’t improve with age. Paying top-five tight end money at this stage of a career, against this profile, is a bet that requires a high degree of confidence in the trajectory.
The Verdict
I’m a little torn on this because I’ve always rated Goedert so highly. He remains a trusted target for the quarterback and a proven red-zone weapon, and replacing him introduces real short-term uncertainty at an already thin position. Those are legitimate arguments for keeping him, and they shouldn’t be dismissed.
But the counterargument has convinced me, the more I watch his film from last year. Contract projections at the higher end of his range would place him among the top-paid tight ends in the league. Based on his all-around play in 2025, he no longer clearly occupies that tier. The blocking has declined to the point that it changes his positional profile. The down-to-down receiving impact is more average than the touchdowns advertised. The durability history introduces risk on top of the performance concerns. Paying a premium for that package means betting on past reputation and touchdown variance rather than on what the current film actually shows.
However, I do wonder how much of it was effort-based last year. I wonder if he was just fed up with this offense. I’m not excusing his play, but I wonder if his blocking will bounce back with a new OC that will demand this. It’s a tough one. Overall, I would try to find a way to let him walk without severely damaging the cap, but I appreciate that it is a huge risk that the Eagles may not want to take.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here!
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