What Does Dan Arnold Bring to the Eagles?
The Philadelphia Eagles officially signed former Jacksonville Jaguar tight end Dan Arnold to a one-year deal earlier this morning. This move makes this seemingly stacked roster even deeper and also provides much-needed depth to the team’s tight end position.
Arnold had somewhat of a breakout season in 2020 with Arizona when he caught four touchdowns with over 400 receiving yards.
Arnold has served chiefly as a backup tight end throughout his career but has seen a more prominent role in Arizona and Jacksonville. His 2021 campaign was bound to be a great season for Arnold but was cut short due to a knee injury. In just eight games played, Arnold racked up 28 receptions for 324 yards.
After his knee injury, Arnold never saw the same amount of targets as he once did. He played all 17 games last season and only caught nine passes for a little over 100 yards.
Why did the Eagles sign Arnold?
The Eagles starting tight end, Dallas Goedert, has been arguably a top-five tight end in the NFL for some years now. But he is not immune to the occasional injury bug as he has yet to play in all 17 regular season games in his career. And with the Eagles’ very young tight end room including Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra, another veteran at the position was needed.
Arnold’s large 6’6 frame and athleticism can be of value in this deep Eagles offense. If he ends up on the 53-man roster, I would expect the Eagles to use more two tight end sets, which would make the offense even more dangerous and versatile than it already was last year.
Arnold’s position on the roster is most likely not set in stone; however, as the team’s young tight ends have proved to be able to produce in Goedert’s absence, if the Eagles get Arnold prior to his knee injury, then he could prove to be a valuable piece to the offense.
He has the capability of being a great backup for Goedert. Arnold possesses much of the same skill set and could provide a safety insurance role for the Eagles at the position, much like how Marcus Mariota’s style as a quarterback will allow the team’s offense to function similarly if Jalen Hurts goes down.
Photo: Philadelphia Eagles
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Categorized:Eagles