In April 2018, future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten announced his retirement from the NFL in the middle of the draft. Three rounds later, the Dallas Cowboys selected Stanford’s Dalton Schultz with the No. 137 overall selection in the NFL Draft, and he appeared in prime position to be an integral factor in the tight end room.
In his final season as a Cardinal, Schultz was used primarily as a blocker, explaining him only registering 22 receptions for 212 yards. However, he was one of the driving forces that helped running back Bryce Love rush for 2,118 yards. Schultz would use this particular skill as a rookie to keep himself on the field as well. He totaled 300 snaps in the 11 games he appeared in, including six games in which he was on the field for at least 31 plays. He had a pedestrian 12 receptions for 116 yards but he assisted Ezekiel Elliott in winning his second rushing title in three seasons.
Coming off a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, the question was how Schultz’s game would translate to the pro ranks.
Here's a video of some of Dalton Schultz's best blocks from 2018 to make your morning better. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/erkrwwBZxn
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) June 8, 2019
TE Dalton Schultz told Dak “you’re money” after Dak audibled to the QB run pic.twitter.com/VNVoYHtAAu
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 6, 2019
A setback arrived in the performance of Blake Jarwin in the Cowboys season finale vs the New York Giants. Jarwin would catch seven passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns as the Cowboys survived a 36-35 shootout. An even bigger hurdle was the return of Witten after a year in the booth on Monday Night Football.
Once the 2019 season kicked off it was apparent Schultz was, at best, the third tight on the depth chart. After nine games with double-digit snaps as a rookie, he would only achieve that five times last season.
Even though he appeared in all 16 games, he only managed to log 117 snaps, 183 fewer than the year before. As far as his role in the passing game, well, it was virtually nonexistent as he was only targeted twice all season and caught one pass for six yards.
Jarwin. on the other hand. logged 434 snaps and was second to Witten in receptions, yards, and touchdowns for all tight ends. Witten was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders at the end of March in free agency which seemingly left the door open for Schultz to claim playing time as TE2.
That was of course until the Cowboys added tight end Blake Bell to the roster who won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
Schultz has an uphill battle ahead of him to reach the top of the tight end depth chart and with restrictions placed on all teams this offseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic that challenge has become even greater. Will he breakthrough in 2020? Only time will tell.
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