After his senior year at South Dakota State, Dallas Goedert was drafted at No. 49 in the 2018 NFL Draft and headed to Philadelphia. 

The tight end from Britton, South Dakota, has been making plays and enjoying every second of the experience. The jump from playing at SDSU to the Eagles has been a big step, Goedert said. Many things have changed, from the speed and physicality of the game to new pregame routines with his teammates. 

“The players are bigger and faster in the NFL, which makes it harder to keep the separation from them, which came easier in college,” Goedert said.

Not only are the players bigger, but the stadiums Goedert plays in are bigger. Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings holds more than 19,000 fans, and the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia holds nearly 70,000 fans. 

Goedert’s favorite stadium to play at was the AT&T Stadium in Dallas. 

“The fans were loud, we are big rivals. It was an important game, and I had a good game,” Goedert said. 

He showed off his athleticism that game by scoring  a touchdown and making some key blocks to help the offense. He had four receptions for 44 yards.

Goedert’s favorite memory in the NFL is when he scored his first career regular season touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. Another great memory was the feeling of playing his first game of his career against the Atlanta Falcons. 

Every player has a pregame routine that gets them focused on the right mindset for the game. Goedert follows up every game with a few of his teammates. 

“I always like to show up as late as I can, then I go out on the field with a couple of guys and throw the ball at the uprights,” Goedert said. He shows up two and a half hours before the game. He keeps a fairly calm approach leading up to the game, which helps him play loose and focused. 

Goedert and the team enjoy rapping in the locker room when they have free time. 

“Every Friday is freestyle Friday, everyone gets in a circle in the locker room and raps to some beat we put on,” Goedert said. “Our favorite song to listen to in the locker room is ‘Dreams and Nightmares’ by Meek Mill.”

There are many reasons why Goedert is having so much success in the NFL. He has a large 6- foot-5, 260-pound frame that allows him to bully linebackers in the blocking aspect of the game and he has the athleticism to jump for tough passes. His knowledge of the game is one of his best talents that may be overlooked.

“One most people don’t know is that he has a great football IQ,” said Coach Luke Schleusner, Goedert’s former tight end coach at South Dakota State. “He understands blocking schemes really well, and then he also understood the pass concepts really well.”

Goedert also has the tools to make big plays in clutch situations. He is a reliable guy to make the play when the team is counting on him. He has had success with making tough catches when the team needs them.

“No doubt we looked to get Dallas the ball when we needed to make a big play,” said Taryn Christion, quarterback for South Dakota State. “Dallas was a playmaker. He didn’t shy away from the spotlight and he never backed down from a challenge.”

This offseason Goedert will be working on improving his speed and quickness along with mastering his route running and maintaining his strength.

Goedert had a great rookie year and he can keep improving to be one of the best tight ends in the league, Schleusner said.

“The biggest thing is just getting the opportunities,” Schleusner said. “This year what he was asked to do is kind of what rookies are asked to do, he had to block a lot, and show he can play physical at the line of scrimmage.”

Goedert had 33 receptions for 334 yards and four touchdowns in his rookie year. He averaged 10.1 yards per catch and had the ball thrown at him 44 times throughout the season. Goedert is looking to increase these numbers next season.

They will find ways to get me the ball,” Goedert said. He plans on contributing more to the Eagles offense next year and having another great season.