Zach Ertz
ARIZONA CARDINALS
| Position | College | Years in the NFL |
|---|---|---|
| Tight End | Stanford | 11 |
Excellence on the Field:
In the midst of his ninth season in the NFL, Zach continues to excel and play at a high caliber. Among tight ends, Ertz ranks third in receptions and fifth in yards through seven weeks. He also ranks second on the team in yards, receptions, targets and is tied for second in touchdowns. The three-time Pro Bowler passed Ozzie Newsome (662 receptions) earlier this year for eighth place on the NFL's all-time receptions by a tight end list. In Week 3 vs. the Rams, Zach also became the third-youngest tight end in NFL history to reach 650 receptions. The Super Bowl LII champion's 7,161 career receiving yards only trails Travis Kelce (9,559) for the most by an active tight end in the NFL. Last season, Zach was traded to Arizona prior to Week 6 and went on to finish the season with 56 receptions for 576 yards and three touchdowns in just 11 games. His 56 catches tied for the most by a tight end in a single season in Cardinals history. Prior to Arizona, Zach had a stellar career with the Philadelphia Eagles, ranking second in receptions (579) and receiving yards (6,267) third in 100-yard receiving games (12) and fourth in touchdowns (38) among all NFL tight ends during his seven and a half years in Philadelphia.
Dedication & Commitment to Community Efforts This Year:
The Ertz Family Foundation and The Athletes' Corner are teaming up again to fight hunger through the on-field performance of the Arizona Cardinals. The two foundations are running back their Score More n' Feed More initiative, where they will help provide meals to Arizona food banks for every touchdown the Cardinals score this season. Last year, the Score More n' Feed More initiative helped provide a total of 150,000 meals to food banks in Arizona. This year, Zach and Julie are personally raising the bar, by pledging to help provide 500,000 meals to food banks via the Score More n' Feed More initiative. Score More n' Feed More launched on Sunday, September 25 and will last the duration of the 2022-23 NFL season. Since the Cardinals already played two games before launching the campaign, the team will also include the meals that would have been provided from the seven touchdowns the team has already scored. This means the meal-count is up to 8,000 meals this season. This is the third year that The Ertz Family Foundation has partnered with The Athletes' Corner to help fight hunger. Through their campaigns with Zach and the Eagles, Julie and the USWNT at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and then again with Zach and the Cardinals last year – the two foundations have helped provide a total of 1.4 million meals to families in need with the help of Feeding America.
Dedication & Commitment to Community Efforts in Years Past:
The Ertz Family Foundation's mission statement is to empower others by sharing faith, learning through sports, and advancing education to build supportive communities. Since they first began dating in college, Julie and Zach Ertz dreamed of one day creating an organization that could help people in need. In 2018, driven by their faith and a desire to use their success as athletes to better the world, they launched the Ertz Family Foundation. As world champions—Julie as a member of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, Zach as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles—both members of the Ertz family have seen the way that sports can bring people together. They also recognize that with their respective platforms, they can do even more. A trip Zach took to Haiti with some of his Eagles teammates in spring 2018 opened his eyes to the plight of the less fortunate, and catalyzed Julie and Zach's decision to launch the foundation. For Zach, the gratitude of the local community—even for things as simple as painting houses—was overwhelming. The experiences he had during the faith-based mission moved him in ways he had never anticipated. When Zach returned to America, he shared his experiences with Julie. She saw the way that Zach's trip to Haiti had impacted him and knew that the time to launch the foundation had come. Zach Ertz, a Pro Bowl tight end for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, scored the winning touchdown in the 2017-18 Super Bowl. Julie Ertz, a highly decorated defender for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, was a member of the 2015 World Cup championship team and was the 2017 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.
Positive Character & a Lifestyle of Giving Back:
Zach was traded to the Cardinals on October 15,2020 and made an immediate impact on his new community. Since arriving in Arizona, he created the "Score More n' Feed More" campaign, which is donating 5,000 meals to local Arizona food banks for every touchdown the Cardinals score the rest of the season. Back in Philly, work began on the House of Hope in North Philadelphia to create a safe space for local youth. Zach and Julie Ertz donated $100,000, which was matched by their foundation to get the House of Hope underway. The Ertz Family Foundation wants to continue to make an impact both in Philadelphia and in Arizona. They are working on a project called the House of Hope in Hunting Park, where they are completely revamping an old church and turning it into a wi-fi café for kids after school. It's going to be a church on Sunday and a wi-fi café during the week. The goal is to raise $1.2 million, and they have raised $750,000 so far. Zach and Julie have donated $100,000, with the foundation donating another $100,000. The Arizona Cardinals are proud to select Zach Ertz as their 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.