In the Celek family of tight ends, there’s no question that Brent Celek of the Eagles – in his ninth season in Philadelphia – is the king.
Brent, 30, is three years older than Garrett, now in his fourth season with the 49ers.
Brent has had six seasons with 30 or more receptions and has 351 for his career. He’s in the NFL’s upper echelon at his position. In 2009 he had 76 catches for 971 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s also had seasons of 62 and 57 catches. He has 29 career TD catches and has averaged 12.5 yards per catch. Plus, he’s rock solid, having missed just one game in his career.
Garrett, meanwhile, always has been underrated and an understudy. He’s often been the No. 3 tight end behind Vernon Davis and a rotating cast of others.
But with a new coaching staff, new approach and the trade of Davis to the Broncos at midseason, Celek is now playing a larger role.
In the 49ers’ 17-16 upset victory over the Falcons this past Sunday, Celek had two catches for 12 yards, with both receptions from Blaine Gabbert good for TDs.
After having just eight catches over his first three seasons – having been thrown to just 13 times – he has 17 catches in 2015 on 25 targets with all three of his career TD catches.
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As Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee noted this week in a look at snap counts over the team’s first nine games (heading into this weekend’s bye), Celek’s 363 snaps lead all 49er tight ends.
He’s getting more playing time through a combination of improvement and the roster shuffle.
“He was a long shot to make the team in 2012 and was decidedly the 49ers’ No. 3 tight end in his first three seasons,” wrote Barrows. “The turnaround is a testament to Celek’s progress for sure, but also shows just how much the talent level has dropped around him.”
Garrett Celek, who is 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds, often has been used as an extra blocker on running downs, but is eager to prove he can be much more.
“I don’t want to be a tight end that just stays in and blocks,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle recently. “In the past, that’s kind of who I was. Now I have more chances to do bigger things.”
It’s apparent, too, that Gabbert, the new starting quarterback, isn’t afraid to go his way.
Celek will get his next opportunity to show what he can do on Sunday, Nov. 22, against the Seahawks in Seattle.
