Goedert attended Britton-Hecla High School in Britton, South Dakota. He played football, soccer, and basketball for the Braves athletic teams in high school.
College career
Goedert joined South Dakota State University as a walk-on and was with the Jackrabbits from 2013 to 2017. During his career, he had 198 receptions for 2,988 yards and 21 touchdowns, including two straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He started all 14 games in his senior season and was a team captain, totaling 72 catches for 1,111 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. Goedert's collegiate career at South Dakota State saw him as a two-time first team FCS All-American and he was a finalist in 2016 for the Walter Payton Award, which recognizes the top player in the FCS. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, Goedert accepted an invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl. However, he was injured during practice and withdrew from the game.
Professional career
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Goedert in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Eagles traded their second and fifth round picks to the Indianapolis Colts in order to move up in the second round, ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, to draft Goedert. It was speculated by draft analysts that the Dallas Cowboys were going to possibly draft Goedert as they were in need of a tight end following the retirement of veterans Jason Witten and James Hanna. Goedert was the third tight end drafted in 2018 and was selected as a replacement for Brent Celek whom the Eagles released on March 13, 2018. On May 9, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Goedert to a four-year, $5.62 million contract that includes $2.90 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.17 million. Goedert made his NFL debut in the 2018 season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. In the 18–12 victory, he had a single reception for four yards. He scored his first career touchdown, a 13-yard reception from Carson Wentz, on September 23, 2018 against the Indianapolis Colts. The touchdown as part of a seven-reception, 73-yard performance for Goedert. He scored a receiving touchdown in both Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers and Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Overall, Goedert finished his rookie season with 33 receptions for 334 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, in a 16–15 victory over the Chicago Bears, Goedert caught a 10-yard pass in the end zone from Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. The touchdown gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead, on their way to an upset 16-15 win in Chicago. Goedert also made a good play in catching a low pass, breaking a tackle, and running for a first down on another ten yard reception, during the Eagles' winning TD drive. In Week 16 of the 2019 season, Goedert recorded a career high nine receptions for a career-high 91 yards and one touchdown in a 17–9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys while also being nominated for PFF NFL Week 16 Team of the Week. In a must-win week 17 game against the New York Giants, Goedert contributed to an Eagles victory after recording four receptions for 65 yards during the 34-17 victory which clinched the NFC East title for the second time within three seasons. Goedert finished the regular season with 58 receptions for five touchdowns and 607 yards. In the Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Goedert recorded seven receptions for 76 yards during a 17-9 loss.
Career statistics
Regular Season
Playoffs
Personal life
On June 22, 2020, surveillance video surfaced from inside a bar in South Dakota of Goedert getting hit in the face by another man. The video showed Goedert in a confrontation with someone while the man came in from his left. Goedert appeared to turn his head to the left just in time before the man landed the punch, which knocked Goedert to the floor, where he lied knocked out. He was taken to a hospital and was doing fine afterwards. Later that day, the man that sucker punched Goedert was arrested and charged with assault. On July 1, 2020, the man that punched Goedert was identified as Kyle Hadala. Hadala told TMZ that Godert and his friends had been verbally harassing his friends at a previous bar and followed them to a new bar. Hadala claimed that his reason for punching Goedert in the face was because Goedert put a hand on Hadala's friend. After punching Goedert, Hadala was attacked by several of Goedert's friends and also went to the hospital. Hadala hired a lawyer to plan to fight his assault charge. On July 17, 2020, Hadala pled not guilty to his assault charge.
