Stanford senior tight end Zach Ertz was selected Friday by the Philadelphia Eagles with the third pick in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Ertz became the second tight end selected, behind only Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert who was picked in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ertz is coming off the most productive season of his career. The tight end led Stanford in receptions (69), receiving yards (898) and receiving touchdowns (6).
In Philadelphia, Ertz will go from foe to weapon for new Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, who left the University of Oregon for the Eagles in January. In Stanford’s victory over the Ducks, Ertz led all receivers with 11 catches for 106 yards and hauled in the game-tying touchdown with 1:35 to play in the fourth quarter.
It will be the first time Ertz has played football outside of the Bay Area. The Alamo, Calif., native starred at Monte Vista High School in Danville.
Ertz is the first Stanford player to be drafted in this year’s draft. Fifth-year senior outside linebacker Chase Thomas and senior running back Stepfan Taylor are the next two Cardinal players projected to be drafted as the second and third rounds continue Friday. The final four rounds of the draft will occur on Saturday.
Ertz was not the only notable selection early in the second round of the draft. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o saw his slide end at No. 38 overall when he was selected by the San Diego Chargers. With the next pick, the New York Jets selected West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, who had been projected as high as fourth overall as late as Thursday afternoon.
As for the local teams, the San Francisco 49ers selected Florida State defensive lineman Cornellius Carradine with the 40th overall pick and the Oakland Raiders picked up Florida State offensive tackle Menelik Watson, a U.K. native and former college basketball player at Marist College in New York.
In Friday night’s first round, both squads added defensive backs. The 49ers picked LSU safety Eric Reid and the Raiders selected Houston cornerback DJ Hayden, who almost died in a freak practice injury when he tore a vein in his heart on a hit, an injury doctors deemed fatal in 95% of cases.
Contact Sam Fisher at [email protected].