Tight End is a hot-button position for the Eagles in the 2009 NFL offseason.  Brent Celek has claimed the starting position and brings strong play-making ability to the table with his pass catching.  That said, I’s still not sold he can be an every down Tight End and block consistently.  Beyond Celek, the Eagles currently have only L.J. Smith (will most likely leave in Free Agency), and Matt Schobel (miraculous that he is on an NFL roster) on the official roster.  Regardless of what you think of Celek’s long-term viability, the blatent lack of depth at Tight End makes it a position of need for the Eagles.

Here are some of the Tight Ends whose names rang out at the 2009 NFL Combine:

Jared Cook's impressive combine performance will jump him into the 1st round

• Brandon Pettigrew - He’s really the only Tight End who has consistently been mentioned as a potential first round draft pick, based on his combination of pass catching and blocking ability.  Pettigrew may hurt his stock with a below-expected 4.85 40 yard dash to go along with 22 bench reps.  His performance opens the door for the Eagles to pick him up in Round #2, once we trade back in the draft with one of the 1st round picks.
• Jared Cook - May have helped his stock moreso than any other player in Day 1 of the Combine.  Cook ran a 4.50 40, leaped a ridiculous 41″ vertical and added a 10′3″ broad jump.  All three drills highlighting his freakish athletic ability and his results are all highs among Tight Ends.
• Cornelius Ingram - The 6′4″ 245 pound TE from Florida was solid at the Combine with his 4.68 40 and 21 bench reps.  Ingram looks like he has the potential to become a good overall tight end in the NFL, and is currently projected to be a second round pick largely due to a torn ACL that made him miss the ‘08 season.
  

  Coming off an ACL injury that ended his '08 season before it started, Cornelius Ingram looked agile and strong at the Combine

• Shawn Nelson - A TE that looks more like a really tall WR, Nelson ran an impressive 4.56 40 yard dash.  Only 19 bench reps is pretty weak, but the kid has the potential to become a real weapon as a pass catching Tight End.
• James Casey - The 6′4″ former minor league baseball player put up a TE leading 28 bench reps at the Combine, but he hoped for a better 40 than 4.71.   In addition to baseball, Casey played safety, defensive line, running back and special teams during his two years at Rice.  The guy is clearly an athlete, but who knows what the future holds for him.

All of the above tight ends looked pretty good at the Combine to me, and that’s probably because of how big I feel the need is for the Eagles.  Like Frankie detailed in an earlier post, I’m not sure a Tight End is the right way for the Eagles to go with a 1st round pick.

If the Eagles fill two positions of need with both of the current first round draft picks, then picking a Tight End in Round #2 makes a lot of sense.  Cook’s stock is on the rise, Pettigrew may fall a bit from a 1st round grade, and Ingram looked really strong at the Combine coming off his injury.  But the Eagles may end up needing to move up in the second round in order to land any of those guys.

Right now I still feel that OT and RB are the two positions the Eagles should focus on with their two 1st round draft picks, I’m going to keep an eye on Cook and Ingram as we head toward the draft.