NFC Notes: Jake Ferguson, Dallas Goedert, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles

Commanders

• When taking a look at the Commanders’ offensive roster, Ben Standig of The Athletic writes RB Brian Robinson‘s usage depends on how recently signed RB Austin Ekeler holds up physically. 
• Regarding Washington’s receivers, Standig thinks it is unlikely Damiere Byrd makes the active roster given they already have an undersized receiver ahead of him with Olamide Zaccheaus.
• At tight end, Standig could see Armani Rogers gaining a roster spot as the team’s fourth tight end if they elect to pass on holding onto a 10th offensive lineman. 
• Standig writes the Commanders’ starting left tackle spot “remains the main worry,” while Cornelius Lucas could be a solid option for the first 3-6 weeks of the season but they must keep an eye on whether there are diminishing results. 
• Standig is also keeping an eye on rookie Brandon Coleman‘s development and could see him pressing for a starting role if he stands out in training camp. 

Cowboys

Cowboys TEs coach Lunda Wells said TE Jake Ferguson must stay consistent after having a breakout year last season, pointing out that the great tight ends in the NFL produce year in, year out. 

“He had a good year last year, but can you do it again?” Wells said, via Patrik Walker of the team’s site. “The legends and the great players do it consistently over the years — Jason Witten, Travis Kelce, Tony Gonzalez — you can go down the list — the great ones do it consistently every year. You can’t be one and done or a one-hit wonder, because those get lost. If you wanna be great, you’ve gotta do it every year, consistently, and I think that’s the challenge he understands. And that’s the best thing: he understands that. … [He] set the standard last year, now let’s make sure we do it even better, like the great ones do.”

Ferguson thinks he isn’t even scratching the surface of his potential.

“It’s my consistency in my prep,” Ferguson said. “To me, I think I’m not even scratching my surface. There’s so many things that I want to get better at and I know I can get better at. We watch film every day of different games, even the practices we’re doing now and I’m like, ‘OK, I can get a lot better still.'”

Ferguson is focused on taking an even larger leap with his development in 2024. 

“I need to make that exact same jump [as last year], but make it even bigger,” Ferguson said. “In this league, you can’t get complacent. You’ve got to keep getting better, and that’s what I intend to do. We’ve got great vets in our facility — Brandin [Cooks] and Dak — and they teach you how to take care of your body and how to take care of your mind as you start to get older. I’m 25 and I’m like, ‘Ooh, I am kinda getting old for a football player.’ I’ve got to start making those strides and get better every year.”

Eagles

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert is 29 years old but feels he still has his prime ahead of him. He hopes that he spends his remaining years in Philadelphia making a big impact in OC Kellen Moore‘s offense and has received advice from former NFL TE Greg Olsen that he still has time in his career to be a difference maker.

“I feel really good,” Goedert told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’m not too worried about it. I love being in Philadelphia. I’m going to give them everything I’ve got and let the chips fall where they may fall.”

“He said his best years came after 31, 32, 33,” Goedert said of advice he received from Olsen. “I still feel like the best years are ahead of me.”

“He’s been doing a great job of just making the offense make sense and we kind of changed up the reads and different things like that throughout,” Goedert added on Moore. “I feel like it’ll play in favor of the tight end, the quick game a little bit, getting back to the pivots, the sticks that I caught earlier in my career that went away a little bit. I’m really excited for how he uses the tight end and how he feels like they can be a big part of the offense and help win games.”