The Dallas Cowboys were set at tight end for a very long time with future Hall of Famer, Jason Witten. It was a great 17-year run for the team, but when Witten retired, for the second time, the Cowboys were forced to find a replacement.
There wasn’t a perennial Pro Bowl answer, but the offense did find a solid option in tight end Dalton Schultz. Now that he’s no longer in the picture, the Cowboys are once again hitting the reset button on the position to feature youthful exuberance.
Selected in the fourth-round of the 2018 draft, Schultz took a few years to get going but wound up having three productive years with the Cowboys. His breakout 2021 season led to the team using their franchise tag which he played under for close to $11 million in 2022. Reports were the team had offered Schultz a three-year, $36 million deal at the time.
Cowboys were about to pay Dalton Schultz $12 million a season on a 3-yr deal, my man should’ve taken that money and ran! #DallasCowboys
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) March 20, 2023
As a free agent this offseason, the Cowboys opted to not use the tag on their best TE, allowing Schultz test free agency. Instead, the veteran TE signed with the Houston Texans for $9 million on a one-year deal.
Luckily, the organization prepared for this scenario last offseason. The Cowboys used a fourth-round pick on a TE in the 2022 draft, like they did on Schultz in 2018, selecting Jake Ferguson of Wisconsin.
The team didn’t stop there, they also signed Peyton Hendershot out of Indiana as an undrafted free agent after last year’s draft. Hendershot’s film had a draftable grade, but other issues caused teams to pass on him.
Dallas used last season as a bridge year to go from Schultz to Ferguson, and possibly Hendershot. The rookie TEs got to learn and play behind Schultz to prepare to take over if the veteran out of Stanford didn’t return. The team covered themselves in case the inevitable happened this offseason, which it did.
Now that Schultz is gone, the Cowboys have replacements ready in Ferguson and Hendershot. The duo played quality snaps in their rookie years, produced, and appear ready for the next step in their sophomore campaigns. The question is, can second-year TEs match Schultz’s production?
Schultz may not have had the athletic upside of Ferguson or Hendershot, but he was a security blanket for quarterback Dak Prescott and worked himself into a top option in Dallas’ passing game. The offense needs one, or both, of the young TEs to emerge as the same.
The potential is there. The new dynamic duo at tight end combined for 30 catches, 277 yards and four scores last year. When injuries forced Schultz out of the lineup for two games and rendered him ineffective in a handful of others, Ferguson and Hendershot stepped up.
Hendershot had his two best games when Schultz was out, which included season-highs in catches (3) and 43 yards in Week 3 against the New York Giants. Those two games resulted in over half of Hendershot’s yards on the season and almost half of his receptions.
Ferguson had a career-high in targets and catches in Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles, a game in which he scored one of his two touchdowns on the season. But it was on Thanksgiving where Ferguson had his ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment, showcasing his athletic ability.
Jake Ferguson showing off the vertical leap and picking up some extra yardage. pic.twitter.com/RLGuRXu8Zj
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 25, 2022
The Cowboys are in capable hands at TE moving forward with Ferguson and Hendershot. The team also has fourth-year tight end Sean McKeon, who holds value as depth and plays a role on special teams.
Those are the only three tight ends currently on their roster who have an NFL catch. The Cowboys can look to the draft to bolster the position as well, as gurus believe this is one of the best TE classes in a long time. There is both quality and quantity to be had, so there will be ample opportunity to upgrade or supplement what the team has in Ferguson and Hendershot.
The top options at TE include Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, Georgia’s Darnell Washington, Oregon St.’s Luke Musgrave and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta. If the Cowboys don’t select one early, the middle rounds could offer Old Dominion’s Zach Kuntz or Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, among other prospects.
Losing Schultz is a blow to the passing game, however the Cowboys have two young options to help soften the fall and can add to a blossoming group in the draft.
You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi