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The Eagles made a new contract for Zach Ertz a priority heading into the offseason. It didn't take them long to get it done.

The team announced the tight end inked a five-year contract extension on Monday, keeping him in Philadelphia through 2021 -- a move that should provide fantasy football owners with a solid option in coming seasons.

Indeed, the hope is the athletic tight end will put up big numbers this season with new head coach Doug Pederson. Over the past two seasons, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has been targeted 187 times, making him a go-to weapon in Kansas City's passing game.

Assuming Pederson brings an offense to the Eagles similar to that the Chiefs ran Ertz will be a very busy man.

Or should we say busier?

The 25-year-old is coming off a 2015 season in which he finished sixth amongst all players at his position in receptions (75) and seventh in receiving yards (853) with a pair of touchdowns. Those first two numbers were good for second on the team behind wideout Jordan Matthews and ranked third all-time among Eagles tight ends.

Most impressively, perhaps, was the fact that Ertz improved dramatically as the season progressed.

More than half his yards and nearly half his receptions came over the final four weeks of the season, with the 6-5 pass-catcher hauling in 35 balls for 450 yards, leading all NFL tight ends during that stretch and trailing only perennial Pro Bowl receivers Antonio Brown and Julio Jones.

In the team’s season finale against the Giants, he caught nine passes for a career-high 152 yards, and the week before that he notched 13 catches for 122 yards.

By the way, the money suggests a significant role.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that the extension is worth $42.5 million, with $20 million in guarantees, which makes Ertz the fourth-highest paid tight end in average and guaranteed money. Jimmy Graham ($10 million), Julius Thomas ($9.2 million) and Rob Gronkowski ($9 million) are the top three in average per year.