Eagles’ Jack Stoll Settling in at Backup TE

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Jack Stoll has earned the trust of Jalen Hurts and the coaching staff.

PHILADELPHIA - Bring the Philadelphia Eagles' tight end situation up to the casual observer and you’ll probably get Dallas Goedert and to be determined.

Inside the NovaCare Complex, however, it’s more like Goedert, Jack Stoll, and TBD.

Stoll, a third-year player from Nebraska, is the Eagles’ “blocking” tight end but when Goedert went down for five games with a broken glenoid bone in his shoulder last season Stoll earned the trust of star quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The first goal for any receiver on a given play is never to fool the quarterback and when Hurts grew comfortable with Stoll, the 6-4, 247-pound TE2’s reputation around the building bloomed with that sentiment.

“I think it's awesome, just having guys out there who see the work you put here on the field,” Stoll told SI.com’s Eagles Today. “... I've always had confidence that I could go out there and do it internally so I just go out there and do whatever is asked of me whether that's blocking, whether that's catching passes or that’s special teams and really just make the most of it.

“Having guys like that, having Jalen say that, coaches say stuff like that. It's awesome to hear.”

The real competition in tight end coach Jason Michael’s room is for the third role with second-year receiving option Grant Calcaterra trying to hold off veteran Dan Arnold, and the physically gifted Tyree Jackson, the college quarterback turned tight end who is finally healthy again after battling through a stress fracture in his back and a torn ACL. Undrafted hopeful Brady Russell, the nephew of Eagles' personnel guru Matt Russell, is aiming for the practice squad.

While he’s in Philadelphia, Stoll is tapping into Arnold, who like Goedert, is a six-year veteran but one who has bounced around. The counterintuitive notion that Stoll has taken out of the relationship with Arnold is the latter's experience in multiple schemes.

“He's awesome,” Stoll said of Arnold. “You know, anyone who's been in the league as long as he has, there's a reason they've been in the league for as long as they have. … Having him and being able to just listen to someone who's been around different schemes, because a lot of us have only been in Philly so this is the only scheme we know.

“I’m interested in hearing a new perspective from someone like Dan and you know, he's been a great addition to the room.”

Off the field, Stoll has also built up his body to the point Goedert pointed out his more sculpted “guns” in a social media post from the Eagles.

Blocking will always be Stoll’s calling card as an NFL player and he’s intent on not standing still in that aspect.

“It's a grind,” Stoll admitted.

But it’s a grind that has gotten a little easier as the years start to pile up.

“I would say for sure you come out here, you understand the scheme a little bit better,” Stoll said. “And that allows you to grow in other areas. Whether that's working on top of the routes, whether that's coming out here on special teams and worrying more about leverage versus this, that, or the other I think you're able to work on a lot of what are the details that really help you start elevating.”

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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