Schultz accepted challenge, passed test, now may demand Cowboys keep him close

He may have been an afterthought entering 2020, but his performance earned him a role in 2021 and that might earn him long term security starting in 2022. | From @CDPiglet

Everyone has their prototypes. When the Jason Garrett regime drafted Dalton Schultz, it felt like a Jason Witten emerged from Garrett’s algorithm. Witten was 6-foot-6, 263 pounds while Schultz checks in at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds. The future Hall of Famer was an intermediate pass catcher who relied on smart play in gaming zone defenses and excellent route running. He wasn’t the dynamic athletic receiving threat and Schultz gets his wins in the passing game the exact same way. Both were seen as having better than average blocking chops even out of college.

Even though the offensive line suffered multiple injuries and four different QBs started behind the tattered group, Schultz was able to produce better-than-solid numbers as a starting TE.

Continuing our 2021 Player Profile series, here is a look at one of the better non-starter TEs in the NFL.