Washington Commanders' tight end Zach Ertz is coming to the end of his storied NFL career, so he likely doesn't need bulletin board material as he enters Year 14.
But if he was, he just got it.
After four so-so seasons from 2021 through to 2023, last year, Ertz had a career resurgence of sorts, posting 654 yards and seven touchdowns from 66 receptions.
Not to mention his 18 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in Washington's three playoff games either.
But apparently, Pro Football Focus doesn't value that as much as we do in their latest tight end rankings, for which the publication, out of 32 tight ends ranked, has Ertz at No. 30, below Tyler Warren (24), and Colston Loveland (23), both drafted a couple of months ago and haven't even played a down in the NFL yet.
"While Ertz isn’t the same player we saw from 2013 to 2019, he enjoyed a resurgence while catching passes from Jayden Daniels in 2024," Pro Football Focus writes. "He hauled in 84 passes for 809 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and his 72.5 PFF receiving grade was his best mark since 2019, showing he still has good play left in the tank."
So we aren't sure exactly how PFF determined this ranking and where players landed, but it can't be due to on-field production.
Looking at Ertz's regular-season stats from last season, among all tight ends, he finished 11th in yards, sixth in receptions, eighth in targets, and joint-fourth in touchdowns.
So, based on production alone, Ertz likely deserves to be roughly around the middle of the pack, if not a little higher. It could also be that PFF has ranked the tight ends based on what they think the players will produce in 2025. Still, based on his production last season, 30th feels like a joke.
Either way, Ertz, if he was looking for motivation entering what might be his final season, he just got it.
