Eagles TE Dan Arnold Potential Impact on Offense: Something vs. Nothing?

A pass-catching tight end to help the running game? That's the plan behind adding Dan Arnold to the Philadelphia Eagles offense.

PHILADELPHIA - Dan Arnold could be everything for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 season and the veteran tight end might not be anything.

That’s the wheelhouse for a 28-year-old semi-accomplished tight end who signed a one-year, $1.185 contract with only $50K of that guaranteed on May 4.

Come to think of it, everything and anything might be a little extreme when it comes to Arnold’s potential impact, so maybe the better terminology is something vs. nothing.

It’s pretty clear that Philadelphia wants a little more impact when it comes to their 12 personnel packages and a better complement for star tight end Dallas Goedert in those looks.

Even though Arnold is more pass-catcher than blocker, the goal behind the Eagles’ effort is to improve the running game. The Philadelphia rushing attack was No. 1 in the NFL last season when the offense was using 11 personnel (three receivers and one tight end), a setup where Jalen Hurts could manipulate the spacing and numbers against the various defensive fronts the Eagles saw.

Conversely, the team wasn’t nearly as effective in 12 (two receivers and two tight ends) despite having two solid blockers at the position (Goedert and backup Jack Stoll). The problem was that Stoll was not threatening as anything more than an outlet as a receiver, enabling opposing defenses to bunch things up in the box and affect the Eagles’ spacing.

Grant Calcaterra, a 2022 sixth-round pick, was able to show some solid upside as a receiver but his blocking remained such a deficiency that major snaps were not possible. Ultimately Stoll participated in 656 reps, a number boosted by Goedert missing five games with a broken glenoid bone in his shoulder, while Calcaterra toiled in 250 snaps as a rookie.

During the pre-draft process while most were focused on a running back, an NFC scout told SI.com’s Eagles Today that if you want to improve the team’s running game, the goal should be adding a more dangerous WR3 or TE2 to better help Hurts manipulate the spacing.

The board didn’t fall Philadelphia’s way when it came to that goal at tight end so Arnold, who has 95 career receptions for 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns in 59 career games, was Plan B at tight end.

From a practical standpoint, the Eagles would probably just prefer Calcaterra responds to the competition and takes a significant step forward in his sophomore season while paying Arnold $50,000 for his role as iron sharpening iron.

The floor here to a meaningful Super Bowl contender, however, is forcing an opposing defense to account for a credible player, also a sound $50K investment.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen