The Eagles May Need a Tight End Upgrade Before Week 1

The Philadelphia Eagles can enter Week 1 with Dallas Goedert as a dependable starting tight end. The risk begins immediately behind him, where Johnny Mundt has not faced a convincing challenge for TE2 and rookie Eli Stowers still looks like a long-term project.

That is thin protection for an offense built to control games with personnel flexibility. Philadelphia should study the waiver wire and trade market before the opener, even if the final answer is a modest role player rather than a headline addition.

Mundt is being asked to hold a bigger role

Mundt brings legitimate NFL experience and blocking value. Those traits can help an offense that wants its tight ends involved in the run game, protection and play-action structure. They do not automatically make him the complete second option this roster may need.

The concern is not that Mundt lacks a useful skill. It is that nobody forced a real competition behind Goedert. A strong summer from Stowers or another young tight end would have created choices. Instead, the unofficial depth chart still places Mundt directly behind the starter.

That matters over a full season. The second tight end has to survive snaps that demand more than one job: block an edge, release into space, protect the quarterback and punish a defense that ignores him. A specialist can cover part of that assignment. The offense benefits from someone who can threaten several answers.

Stowers should not be rushed to solve September

Philadelphia drafted Stowers in the second round because his athletic profile offers real upside. He arrived as a converted quarterback with unusual movement skills for the position. That ceiling remains attractive, but it does not erase how much technique and processing an NFL tight end must learn.

The early evaluation discussed on Birds 365 is that Stowers has a longer runway than expected. His athleticism should become more visible when assignments slow down and his role becomes natural. Until then, forcing him into important snaps could hurt his development and weaken the offense at the same time.

A developmental pick does not become a failure because he is not ready in August. The mistake would be pretending the future projection already solves the current depth chart. Stowers needs practice, strength and repetition. The Eagles need a reliable second tight end now.

The right addition should complement Goedert

Philadelphia does not need to collect another famous name. The cleaner target is a younger role player who can block, catch routine throws and grow without demanding Goedert's touches. That addition would move Mundt into a more natural third-tight-end role and give Stowers room to develop.

The waiver period may create that player. A trade could also work if another team has genuine surplus at the position, although contenders have little reason to strengthen Philadelphia cheaply. Howie Roseman's job is to find the overlooked fit before an injury turns a manageable weakness into an urgent one.

Goedert keeps the starting position stable. He cannot make every two-tight-end package work by himself, and the Eagles should not build their contingency plan around perfect health. A credible TE2 would protect the run game, add a middle-of-the-field answer and keep the offense from shrinking when Goedert leaves the field.

The next roster cut around the league will show whether that fit is available. Philadelphia can afford patience through the evaluation, but not indifference. The front office should compare every released tight end against one concrete standard: can he perform enough jobs to keep the playbook open when Goedert rests? If Philadelphia can add one without sacrificing meaningful draft capital, the move would give Stowers time and remove one avoidable Week 1 risk from the offense.