A Blake Jarwin breakout could fuel Cowboys offense into stratosphere

Blake Jarwin will have every opportunity to explode for the Dallas Cowboys now that there’s no one standing in his way.

The offense for the Dallas Cowboys carried the team in 2019, finishing first in the NFL in yards a game. A big part of their success was the passing game, a unit that accounted for close to 300 yards a contest, finishing second in the league.

And now it has the potential to be even better in 2020, with the full-time addition of TE Blake Jarwin. Coming into his fourth season, Jarwin will be the starting tight end for the Cowboys, finally taking the throne from future Hall of Famer Jason Witten.

Jarwin entered the league in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, where he walked onto the team. In three seasons in Stillwater, he amassed 41 catches for 616 yards and five scores.

Those were pedestrian numbers, but the Cowboys saw Jarwin’s potential. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end showed good athletic ability, was a solid blocker and played specials team in college. Jarwin had the tools of a player Dallas wanted to develop.

The Early Years

Jarwin didn’t distinguish himself during preseason of his rookie campaign and got released during the team’s final cuts. However, Jarwin did show enough to be signed back to the Cowboys’ practice squad, where he stayed until October.

That’s when the Philadelphia Eagles came calling to try and poach Jarwin from Dallas.

The Cowboys never let that happen, signing Jarwin to the active roster where he remained for the rest of the year. He appeared in just one game, but did not record a catch. Dallas surely wanted to keep him away from the Eagles, but it was also a sign of their belief in Jarwin’s ability.

Jarwin found his way onto the 2018 roster after both Witten and James Hanna retired. The sudden retirements also paved a way for playing time, which Jarwin capitalized on, seeing action in all 16 games. Although his final statistics on the year weren’t spectacular, 27 catches for 307 yards and three scores, Jarwin flashed his potential in the final game of the season.

Jarwin torched the rival New York Giants for seven catches, 119 yards and three touchdowns. It was one of the more memorable performances by a Cowboys tight end in a long time.

Here and Now

The writing was on the wall to make Jarwin a bigger part of the passing game in 2019, only to see Witten comeback and hoard most of the playing time at TE.

Despite being out snapped by the veteran, Jarwin was more productive with his opportunities. The 31 catches and 365 yards were career highs as Jarwin continued to be the threat down the deep middle that Witten could no longer provide.

With Witten now gone, Jarwin is the unquestioned top option at TE. The Cowboys didn’t dip into free agency in any meaningful way, only signing veteran blocking TE Blake Bell.

He won’t have anyone to take his snaps as the starter and its Jarwin’s time in Dallas. The Cowboys placed a second-round tender on their budding star to keep teams away this off-season before signing him to a four-year, $24.5 million deal this off-season. The Cowboys made it clear, they believe he’s ready to take the next step.

Despite the lack of playing time, Jarwin averaged a robust 11.8 yards per catch last season, good for 11th among tight ends. He’s too athletic for most linebackers to cover, especially on seam routes, and is a nightmare to tackle in the open field. Jarwin is just scratching the surface of his potential and the addition of Mike McCarthy will help.

While Dallas didn’t draft a tight end, they did add a high-pedigree pass catcher to the mix. The selection of WR CeeDee Lamb at No. 17 means Dallas should find itself in 11 personnel often. The diversity of skillsets between Lamb, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, and the attention they will command, should mean many easy days at the office for Jarwin. Combined with the focus defenses always have to pay to Ezekiel Elliott, Jarwin should find mismatches galore as teams will have to dedicate lesser personnel to the job of keeping up with him.

Security blanket targets should keep Dak Prescott very, very warm during the winter. The time is now for Jarwin to breakout. The ordinary statistics put up for his first few seasons are set to explode.

McCarthy’ west coast offensive principles, coupled with Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore’s scheme should equate to success for Jarwin. The last time McCarthy had a TE similar to Jarwin was when he coached Jermichael Finley. The former Green Bay TE had a three-season stretch (excluding a season in-between because of injury) where he averaged 57 catches, 703 yards and five scores a season.

The last Cowboys tight end to have 700 yards and five scores in a season was Witten in 2014, but those are the type of numbers to expect from Jarwin.

The hype train for Blake Jarwin is full-steam ahead. The aerial attack for the Cowboys is one of the best in the league, with defenses focused on stopping RB Ezekiel Elliott and the wide receiver weapons in Dallas, Jarwin will have every opportunity to cash in with a big year.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

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