TE Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles

HT: 6-4, WT: 250, Born: 1-25-1985, College: Cincinnati, Drafted: Round 5

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: C Fleener (197), A Roberts (198), Brent Celek (199), D Keller (200), I Redman (201)
Position: T Eifert (186-TE21), C Fleener (197-TE22), Brent Celek (199 - TE23), D Keller (200-TE24), R Housler (207-TE25)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: C Fleener (187), Brent Celek (189), J Bell (190), B LaFell (191)
Position: D Keller (186-TE22), C Fleener (187-TE23), Brent Celek (189 - TE24), J Cameron (200-TE25), Z Ertz (215-TE26)
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Latest News

Eagles | Three TEs expected to receive playing time (Fri May 17, 04:24 PM) - Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly indicated TEs Brent Celek, Zach Ertz and James Casey are expected to receive playing time during games this season.

Our View: There could be plenty of targets for the TEs in the Kelly system this year. Celek is the leader of the group and could be the featured player at the position. He has a $4.5MM cap number this year and may be asked to take a pay cut before we get to training camp. It will be interesting to see how this position battle and the targets therein shake out.
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Brent Celek has to take some responsibility for Michael Vick's first interception. While he was likely not expecting Vick to throw him the ball on the play, Celek should have fought for position when Craig Robertson beat him to the spot to pick off Vick in the first quarter. Celek failed to react to Vick's scrambling and stay alive after the initial phase of the play. From then on he had a much better game however as he showed his ability to get down the field and make plays in open space matched up against linebackers. Celek's only limitations were when he was asked to play more in pass protection as the Eagles attempted to better protect Vick. Celek beat D'Qwell Jackson in coverage for his biggest gain of the game. Notably on the play the Eagles picked up the pass rush to allow Vick to throw from the pocket. The ball was slightly behind him but he adjusted well to make the reception without losing his forward momentum over the middle of the field.

Week 2 - Brent Celek will definitely steal all of the headlines from this game, but a combination of scheme breakdowns and an injury to Bernard Pollard definitely bloated his statistical prowess. Celek's first two receptions were scheme catches where he didn't have to free himself from a defender. His third reception was somewhat flattering also as he was wide open underneath as the Ravens were prioritizing deep coverage. Celek ran across the field underneath the deep coverage on third and 20 to pick up 19 yards. He gained seven yards after the catch, but wasn't shown much resilience from Cary Williams who dropped away from the bigger player instead of trying to tackle him. Celek was catching plenty of passes over the middle and it was only a matter of time before he received some punishment from the Ravens' defense. Towards the end of the first quarter, Bernard Pollard had clearly had enough and leveled Celek as soon as he caught the ball(with a legal hit). Celek held on for the reception and crouched on the ground for a moment, before bursting into a celebratory stance to rise the crowd. Pollard soon after left the game with an unrelated injury which meant Celek was often matched up with James Ihedigbo. Ihedigbo physically didn't have enough to stick with the Eagles' tight end. When he wasn't taking advantage of Pollard's absence, Celek was catching more passes when the play design freed him of coverage. He ran exactly the same route as he did for his first reception for 25 yards later in the game, and also caught a wide open pass in the flat that he turned into 23 yards(including a nice hurdle of Ed Reed). Celek was showing the athleticism to get deep down the field, but also the bravery to expose himself for the benefit of the team. However there is no doubt that the opposition will be watching for those specific plays that the Ravens failed to address during this game.

Week 3 - Celek hit a speed bump in his resurgence this week. His first reception came as he found a hole in a zone, caught the ball 20 yards downfield, and gained an extra 14 yards after contact. He was open down the middle of the 2nd quarter, but was overthrown. He leapt to attempt to bring the ball down, but exposed himself to a tough, clean, hit. He was back on the field for the Eagles’ next possession, though, and made a short reception on a TE screen for his final reception of the day. Vick looked in Celek’s direction only twice more in the 2nd half. The first was an overturned two yard completion, and the second was an intentional grounding penalty on Vick.

Week 4 - Brent Celek was the second leading receiver on the Eagles and Vick looked his way often at times on Sunday night. Celek was a big target over the middle of the defense and a reliable check down option for Vick when he faced a vicious pass rush/missed block on the offensive line. Celek was able to burn the Giants deep down the middle of the field on a seam route, proving too big and fast for the coverage for a big gain. Celek hauled in another big seam route catch against a defense that was too busy trying to stop McCoy and the Eagle running game. Celek showed strong hands, patience as a checkdown option for Vick and fast enough to beat linebackers when a running game has “sucked in” the secondary of the opposing team. Celek often has big yards in games but rarely gets into the endzone as the Eagles score on the ground often and sometimes on big plays that happen before they enter the redzone which hurts the productivity of Celek. Regardless, his size and speed make him a legit threat over the middle of the field for QB Vick and provides another dimension in this offense that defenses have to respect or they will be punished.

Week 5 - Celek was less involved on offense than he tends to be, but still made an important contribution to the football game. His first catch was a five yard curl when he was hit immediately. His second was similarly small as he was open by scheme as he rolled out with Vick on the bootleg to make a reception for two yards. Celek couldn't beat two defenders in his area, but you wouldn't have expected him to. His most important contribution came late in the game when he caught an easy touchdown pass in the endzone in single coverage against the smaller Cortez Allen. Celek outmuscled Allen to gain position and make an easy catch.

Week 6 - Michael Vick targeted Brent Celek early and often in this game, but whenever Celek went for the ball, the Lions would hit him hard, and he limped off the field a couple times and blew two scoring opportunities to finish the day with just four receptions for 33 yards. On the first drive of the third quarter Celek had a step and Vick hit him in the hands for the touchdown, but Celek just dropped it and they had to settle for a field goal. On the next drive, Vick dumped it to Celek in the end zone again for what appeared to be a touchdown, but Celek was called for offensive pass interference and the Eagles settled for a field goal again. His final catch came at the end of the third quarter, an 11 yard catch and run where he was hit hard and limped to the sideline. He was not reported as injured after the game but was cleary hurting.

Week 8 - The big tight end hauled in three passes for thirty-two receiving yards against a Falcons secondary that conceded the short and intermediate passing game. Celek caught passes of fourteen and sixteen yards, respectively, mainly running routes underneath the secondary and up the seam. Like the rest of the Eagles’ receivers, he had an unimpressive day.

Week 9 - It was a forgettable night for Brent Celek. Celek received his first target during his team’s second drive. On a 2nd-and-Goal play from the seven-yard line, Celek ran an out-route, but the ball was thrown high, deflected off of his hands, and was returned for a touchdown. After the turnover, Vick showed confidence in Celek by completing his first pass to him for a five-yard gain. During the second half, Celek accumulated four catches for 42 yards, all while working against soft zone coverage. However, Celek lazily fumbled away a red zone reception that virtually ended the game.

Week 10 - Celek caught all three of the targets that came his way against the Cowboys including the first pass of the game from Michael Vick. On the play, Celek popped off the line of scrimmage from the left side, caught the pass, and powered his way upfield for a 17 yard gain. He had another reception nullified by a holding penalty. Celek primarily ran quick outs when lined up tight to the line of scrimmage. He also occasionally split out a step from the line of scrimmage and ran a quick in route or slant to the inside. Celek was kept in line as a blocker often as well to try and help neutralize the pass rush of Demarcus Ware. Most of Celek's targets in recent weeks are coming on plays where he uses his body to make a sure catch,

Week 11 - Against the Redskins, the veteran tight end played the stereotypical role of a young quarterback’s security blanket. Targeted eight times on what were mostly short curls and out routes, Celek caught five passes for forty-two yards on eight targets. He was the intended target on Nick Foles’ first interception of the game, a dump off pass that ricocheted off of Celek’s hands and into those of Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall. The Redskins were actually content to let Celek have the middle of the field – he had one catch for twenty two yards and another for twelve yards in which he was essentially uncovered. Celek did leave the game in the fourth quarter – under his own power – with an undisclosed injury. 


Week 12 - Brent Celek only caught a pair of passes, but both were in traffic and on both he absorbed massive hits. Celek was often asked to stay in and block, and so his upside was capped as a pass-catcher. With Nick Foles at quarterback and the Eagles’ offensive line continuing to struggle, Celek will likely continue in this role for the foreseeable future.

Week 13 - Celek finished the day with seven receptions for 73 yards. His best catch came in the first quarter off off a play action pass. On the play, Celek darted to the outside from the line of scrimmage and caught the ball over his outside shoulder before turning upfield for a 16 yard gain. Celek primarily ran curls and quick outs against Dallas, finding success when the Cowboys lined up a linebacker to cover him. Celek's speed allowed him to often get away from the defender for easy short catches throughout the contest.

Week 14 - Celek caught a short reception in the opening moments of the Tampa Bay game and was hit hard going to the ground. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a concussion, which opened the door for Clay Harbor to see an increase in playing time.

Week 16 - Returning to game action after a two-week absence, Celek caught three passes for thirty-nine yards through the air. The Redskins’ soft zone coverage allowed Celek and quarterback Nick Foles to play pitch-and-catch in the middle of the field, and the two Eagles did so for three completions on three attempts. Celek did not see all tight end targets for the Eagles as originally anticipated, with newly signed Evan Moore getting a few looks in the end zone. Nick Foles seems to trust Celek when the chains require moving, so Celek should receive a handful of targets in the Eagles’ next game against the Giants.

Week 17 - Brent Celek made a few nice plays for his team on Sunday but the offense around him struggled mightily under QB Vick. Celek showed some nice moves on a short screen to the outside, getting the first down. Celek then showed incredible toughness and strength on a seam route, hauling in the pass with great concentration before taking a huge hit from the defender in waiting but still managing to hold onto the pass. The play was moot however, as the Eagles could not capitalize on this or many other occasions in Giants territory. Celek did not get enough targets to become fantasy relevant as the Eagles could not put together sustaining drives. Inaccurate passes, poor pass protection and turnovers were their demise on Sunday and Celek could do little to change this.