The new-look Philadelphia Eagles will be depending on a plethora of new offensive weapons in 2015 including recent first-round pick Nelson Agholor, free agent running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews and veteran receiver Miles Austin.
It could be though, that a holdover from last year, a player many pegged for a breakout season in 2014, is ready to take the reins of receiving for the Philly offense.
Tight end Zach Ertz, sent to enter his third NFL season, is expecting big things for himself in 2015 and he's not shy about sharing that belief.
"I just want to be a leader of the team, honestly," Ertz said recently, via Tucker Bagley of PhillyMag.com. "Obviously my role has grown each and every year and I think it will continue to do that, but at the end of the day, all I care about is [getting] 16 wins next year, that's our focus."
How is Ertz planning on accomplishing this feat? Proving to his teammates that he's here to make himself the best he can be - Ertz has routinely been staying after practice to run extra routes and catch passes - and also with the help of a Hall of Famer - former Chiefs and Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez.
Ertz expanded on his interactions with Gonzalez this offseason via his blog.
"We talked about a lot of things. When it came to football, we talked about the steps I needed to take to go from being good to great. We talked about little things - the nuances of how to run a certain route, what's advantageous against certain coverages, that sort of thing. He also talked about the importance of having a routine. He had a routine of greatness that he would do every day. He felt it gave him the edge over the competition in the long run.
"He also really focused on the mental side of the game. We put so much into our bodies physically and emotionally, he explained, that we kind of ignore training the brain, and learning new ways to train the brain. That's kind of what we talked about. He reads a lot of books about mental training and successful CEOs to understand what makes them successful. That's some of the knowledge that he imparted on me."
Ertz finished last season for Philly with 58 receptions for 702 yards and three touchdowns. While those numbers are very good and a step up from a promising rookie season, they fell short of the heightened expectations the media had placed on Ertz after he looked every part of the smart, athletic marvel the Eagles thought he could be when they drafted him in the second-round of the 2013 NFL Draft, in training camp.
Ertz's blocking, something he has struggled with since entering the NFL, also became an issue during the year and he wound up losing snaps to veteran Brent Celek as the season wore on.
His renewed focus this offseason though, has already caught the eye of one of his many quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez. Sanchez believes Ertz's abilities combined with his hard work and attention detail mean he has the potential to become one of the best tight ends in the league.
"Oh absolutely, he has the prerequisites, he has the size, he has the speed, he has the hands and now, once you get that, its like 'okay, now what are you going to do?' Because I guarantee the [Rob] Gronkowski's and Jimmy Graham, those guys work and Ertz, he works his butt off," Sanchez said. "I mean, he's catching tennis balls, he's catching footballs, he's out there doing something with those bags [right now].
"He's all over the place and he's constantly trying to get better, constantly grabbing you to watch film, so when you get a guy like that, the sky is the limit."
While Ertz has already shown himself to be a talented player in two NFL seasons, if he can improve his blocking - something he's been working at - and take the next step in his development in 2015, he could very well find himself as part of the conversation as one of the league's elite tight ends.
