Eagles Notebook: What role will Brent Celek have?

Knowing Chip Kelly's style of play calling, the more speedsters and ball handlers on the offensive side of the football, the better.

Pristine pass catching has been the name of the Eagles' game in the two years Kelly has been patrolling the sidelines. Last season, Philadelphia posted the fifth-best offense in football and the year before was No. 2.

Quick passing and precise downfield blocking key such a system, and that calls for the unique combination of abilities of one certain position: tight end.

Which, in recent years, has been Brent Celek. Plucked in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Celek had his best performance two seasons later: 76 receptions for 971 yards and eight touchdowns that placed him in the top-four at his position that year.

Celek showed not only his versatility but teamsmanship last season when, after the Eagles' offensive line befell a raft of injuries, he willingly took a major hit to his receiving numbers to aid in the team's blocking scheme. There was talk even that he nearly became a sixth offensive lineman himself.

This season, with an injury-prone quarterback and the acquisition of a talented backfield, the Eagles will be looking to a more run-based system. Which means the tight end position will become more important.

Zach Ertz emerged as a threat in 2014, catching three touchdowns on 702 yards in an excellent second season, and with the positive attention he'll bring into training camp next month, it's been easy to forget about Celek. Except if you're Chip Kelly.

"Brent Celek is doing a hell of a job," Kelly said this offseason. "It would be an injustice to tell Brent he has to sit because we want to put someone else in the game."

While Ertz will likely acquire the numbers, and consequently the attention, Celek's role nowadays is more to do with quality than quantity.

That extra blocking he had to do last season gave him the opportunity to improve in his fundamentals in that department. He's been consistently strong and adept at creating running lanes for tailbacks and receivers on screen plays. But, with those two years left on his current deal, the important aspect of his work will involve offering an example for Ertz, who will inevitably take his place someday on this roster.

@MrJamesParks