Tag: Jake Ferguson

Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson poised to top 2023’s Pro Bowl production

From @ToddBrock24f7: ESPN picked the 3rd-year tight end to outperform his 2023 fantasy numbers, something that would certainly help the real-life Cowboys in ’24.

This time of year, it’s easy for fans to focus- maybe too much- on what their team doesn’t have: the big-name free agent their front office didn’t go out and get, the dream blockbuster trade that never materialized, the roster holes still to be filled with a hot prospect or two via the draft.

Forward thinking is great and necessary, but it can often result in forgetting about the talent that already exists inside the building. Contrary to how it can feel like this offseason has unfolded, most of last year’s top-producing playmakers will in fact be back for the Cowboys, and they’ll be looking to build on their 2023 bodies of work.

Jake Ferguson took a major step up in his first season as the team’s starting tight end, and he could be poised to go even further in 2024.

ESPN recently highlighted Ferguson on a list of several players from around the league who they like to beat early statistical projections for the upcoming campaign. And while the picks were made from a fantasy football perspective, the obvious reality is that more receptions, yards, and touchdowns for the third-year man will also translate to good actual things for the Cowboys.

Ferguson’s 102 targets and 71 catches were both top-40 figures among all pass-catchers (including wide receivers and running backs) last season, and he finished inside the top 50 in both yards (761) and touchdowns (5).

Matt Bowen notes Ferguson’s “seam-stretching ability and a rugged play style after the catch,” calling him “a prime target in the middle of the field for quarterback Dak Prescott and an underneath outlet on boot/play-action.”

Expect those things to hold true again in 2024, and maybe even more so.

While Michael Gallup wasn’t the same threat last year that he had been early in his career, his absence moving forward means there will be a new man playing the WR3 role in Dallas. Maybe it’s Jalen Tolbert or KaVontae Turpin or even Martavis Bryant. Or perhaps it’s another of the team’s bench receivers. Or possibly even a rookie soon to hear his name called in the draft. No matter who it is, it will be somebody who’s new to the job… and likely less trusted by Prescott than Ferguson.

The same goes at the running back position. Rico Dowdle has a grand total of 17 catches on his resume. Deuce Vaughn has seven. Hunter Luepke: three. Malik Davis caught six balls… in 2022. Snoop Conner- zero career receptions- has yet to suit up in the silver and blue. Maybe there’s a legitimate backfield receiving threat coming from the college ranks, but odds are Ferguson will be called upon to serve as Prescott’s safety blanket even more frequently this season.

In fact, Ferguson’s main competition for touches could be from a fellow tight end. While pro sophomore Luke Schoonmaker has yet to prove he’s a passing-attack weapon and Peyton Hendershot’s 2023 production fell off considerably after a strong rookie effort, the Cowboys do have highly-touted project John Stephens Jr. waiting in the wings. After losing his first year to a preseason ACL injury, the 6-foot-5-inch darling of last summer’s camp is eager to finally crack the lineup and show what he can do.

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And while this year’s tight end draft class is a bit lackluster once you get past Georgia’s Brock Bowers, there is a hometown product worth keeping an eye on. Ja’Tavion Sanders grew up in nearby Denton and was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 player at Texas. Now considered the second-best tight end available this spring and a potent receiving threat, he’s already visited the Cowboys and gone on record as mentioning Dallas as “a great fit” for him.

Not that any of that should be seen as an obstacle to Ferguson having another big year. The Wisconsin product was ready to get right back at it immediately following the Cowboys’ stunning opening-round playoff loss to Green Bay in January, telling reporters while still at his locker, “You get your ass in the weight room. You get your ass on the playbook. You start now. The offseason starts now. The preparation for next year starts now.”

A player like Ferguson wouldn’t prepare in order to just fall short of his 2023 Pro Bowl campaign, so ESPN’s prediction of further improvement seems quite plausible. Bowen projects Ferguson to end up with “75 to 80” receptions this coming year, a range that only six tight ends reached or surpassed last season.

Focus on the deficiencies right now if you want, but a step up from Ferguson in 2024 would ensure that he’s top of mind next year when it comes to taking stock of the Cowboys’ best assets.

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Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson posts response to Dalton Schultz’s ‘zoo’ remark about team

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys tight end had a simple and understated answer to his former teammate’s remarks about the celebrity culture in Dallas.

Ex-Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz stirred some things up with recent comments about the time spent with his old team.

Current Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson used far fewer words to answer back with a message of his own.

Schultz, the six-year veteran who spent his first five seasons in Dallas, just signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension to stay with the Houston Texans after joining them in 2023.

As a guest on The Pat McAfee Show earlier in the week, the 27-year-old was asked about the difference between the two clubs.

Schultz had thoughts, and he shared them freely.

While he said he enjoyed his time in Dallas, Schultz also ruffled some feathers within Cowboys Nation with remarks about the showbiz atmosphere that came with wearing a star on his helmet… and how things are quite different in Houston.

“That was one of the first things that kind of stuck out to me,” Schultz said on the show. “It feels more like- I don’t want to say college, because it’s not- but the focus is just football, you know what I mean? Going back and telling some people what being around the Cowboys is like: practice facility, gameday, describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis… that surprised a lot of people. Like, ‘Holy crap, that actually happens, like, at a practice facility?’ You think it’s normal, and then you come to a place like this…”

When pressed for an example, Schultz talked about having to sometimes co-exist with fans taking guided tours of the team practice facility at The Star in Frisco, which is the literal centerpiece of a massive 91-acre entertainment and business development district.

“Like, there’s people literally going on tours while you’re lifting in the weight room. And they’ve got, like, a one-way mirror for people to look. Literally, it’s a zoo, dude. People tapping on the glass trying to get people’s attention as they’re doing power cleans or whatnot.”

Schultz’s “zoo” remark touched a nerve. Headlines screamed once again about a Cowboys culture that’s allegedly too much about glitz and glamour and not nearly enough about wins and losses.

“It’s different,” Schultz continued. “That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what Jerry Jones likes, that’s the way they run things. And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just you don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract from stuff in the locker room, being in the facility, until you go somewhere else and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, dude, there’s none of that.”

As McAfee himself pointed out on his show the next day, Schultz likely wasn’t really calling the entire Cowboys organization “a zoo” as much as he was describing the very specific feeling of football players behind a pane of glass being on display to the public as they go about a normal workday.

But the perceived slight was already out there, and the top takeaway was that a former Dallas player was slamming the circus-like culture that the Cowboys purposely create and operate within.

Ferguson made a post to his Instagram story Friday that seemed to give a response in one simple photograph.

The slogan Ferguson highlighted- It is a privilege, not a right, to play, coach and work for the Dallas Cowboys– is plastered in several high-profile places around The Star. While it’s certainly a photo-op sight visible along the (rather expensive) ticketed fan tours that Schultz so casually blasted, it’s also a very intentional reminder to everyone in the building that things are, indeed, different at the most valuable sports franchise on the planet and the largest draw in the NFL.

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Ferguson will be entering his third year with the Cowboys in 2024. He caught 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns and was named to his first Pro Bowl as the Cowboys’ starter, the role Schultz had held previously.

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Cowboys CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson on former OC Kellen Moore joining Eagles

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys playmakers wish their former OC well in his return to the NFC East, “when he’s not playing us or when we need them to lose.”

It took long enough for the news to become official, but former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was finally named to the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday. After one season with the Chargers, Moore will return to the NFC East and face the Cowboys at least twice a year beginning with the 2024 season..

Several of Moore’s former playmakers in Dallas are looking forward to seeing him again, even if he’ll now be wearing enemy colors.

“It really just shows how crazy this league can be,” Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson said, per Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I mean, it’s so many different moving pieces. One guy might be on your team next year, one might be on the opponent the other. I think it’s really cool. I’m proud of him.”

Wideout CeeDee Lamb said he’s “looking forward to playing against” Moore. At the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, he gave several Eagles players a preview of what they can expect.

“Should be very fun,” Lamb told them. “You’re going to have a lot of options, obviously. Your receivers are going to love it because, obviously, it’s more passes.”

Moore’s Cowboys offenses put up big numbers more often than not. In three of his four seasons as Dallas OC, the team finished in the top 10 in both total points and total yards. The one year they didn’t was 2020, the season in which Dak Prescott played in just five games… but was on a record-setting pace before his ankle injury.)

Even Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni- without directly acknowledging their Dallas rivals by name- subtly gave a tip of the hat to the Cowboys’ production during Moore’s time there.

“During Kellen’s tenure as an NFL coach,” Sirianni said in a statement following the announcement of Moore’s hire, “he has helped to develop some of the best quarterbacks in the league and directed some of its best offenses.”

For all the fireworks under Moore, however, Lamb and Ferguson actually went on to enjoy career-high numbers in the first season after his departure, once head coach Mike McCarthy took over play-calling.

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But given the Eagles’ stacked roster, Ferguson expects Moore to spread the ball around plenty in Philly.

“I think there’s a lot of plays to be made,” Ferguson explained from his first Pro Bowl. “I think he puts the guys in the right spot where they need to be and puts it in their hands. I think that’s something that’s important when calling plays and creating that offensive scheme.”

As much as Lamb and Ferguson both say they admire the 34-year-old offensive mind and wish him well at his new post, Moore’s place on the wrong side of the two clubs’ storied rivalry will prohibit the Cowboys stars from actively cheering for him most weeks.

“Excited to see what he can do- not when he’s playing us,” Ferguson admitted. “Or when we need them to lose.”

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How to watch four former Wisconsin Badgers in today’s NFL Pro Bowl Games

How to watch four former Wisconsin Badgers in today’s NFL Pro Bowl Games

The NFL Pro Bowl is later today — or Pro Bowl Games given the move away from a true football game. The shift occurred entering 2023 as the league opted to move away from contact in the exhibition contest, or as years of players not trying pushed them to do so. Regardless, there is one football-adjacent activity today. It’s the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games.

Four former Wisconsin Badgers earned the nod this season: Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold, Baltimore Ravens guard Kevin Zeitler, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.

Related: Power ranking all 18 Big Ten football programs after the 2023 season

The game kicks off — or begins, given it’s a flag football game and not played with traditional rules — at 2 p.m. central / 3 p.m. eastern on ESPN and ABC.

Follow the Money: Breakdown of Cowboys TE salaries, cap hits

A breakdown of the cap spending at the tight end position and how Dallas has set themselves up to keep costs low with solid production. | From @ArmyChiefW3

Imagine a scenario where a young, bonafide starter who just made his first Pro Bowl leads a position group of other young talented players, all threats to make the team. Now imagine the entire collection doesn’t take up much salary cap space.

The tight end room in Dallas has a long list of potential contributors and might be the closest to fitting this description. The Cowboys have done the ground work, laying the platform for this to come to fruition. Now the players not named Jake Ferguson have to come through on the promise.

When churning the bottom of the roster, a player’s salary often contributes to his fate but the money aspect probably won’t be coming into play for these guys. With very little capital spent, this is where Dallas has managed to save a few dollars without sacrificing much.

Cowboys News: Free agent options, fallout from Quinn continues

The defensive coordinator search is on while free agency could involve Dallas this time around. | From @ArmyChiefW3

Finding a replacement for departed defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is well underway. Options vary in terms of scheme and experience levels. The feeling of a free agency spending spree has been cautiously thrown around after a few choice words by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opens up possibilities not seen around Dallas in quite some time.

The Super Bowl frenzy has descended on Las Vegas and reminiscing about previous winners places a former Cowboys team in elite company. Along with the big game, Pro Bowl festivities have kicked off and a few Cowboys players are participating in a variety of events. Lastly, unfinished business from a top Cowboys official has kept him in Dallas but that may not be the case moving forward. All that and more in this edition of Cowboys news and notes.

 

12 personnel an offensive trend Cowboys couldn’t exploit in 2023

Passing out of 12 personnel groups has been highly productive in the NFL yet the Cowboys’ issues at TE have caused them to struggle in this area. | From @ReidDHanson

The NFL is a game of mismatches. Top offensive minds are constantly searching for ways to gain advantages by utilizing certain personnel groups. It’s something the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree has taken to new heights and something that’s consistently burned the Cowboys defense in recent matchups.

Adding an extra TE to the field often forces defenses to match personnel; achieved by swapping a DB for an extra LB on most occasions. This adjustment adds to the overall size of the defense but can come at the cost of speed and coverage ability. This situation is exploitable if the TEs brought in to facilitate the running game are also legitimate pass threats.

12 personnel often makes it’s biggest impact in the passing game. Even though the majority of the plays that take place with two TEs on the field are runs, it’s usually the passes out of this look that produce the biggest EPA gains.

In 2022 the Cowboys took big steps in their 12 personnel. With Dalton Schultz and surprising rookie Jake Ferguson leading the charge, the Dallas offense wasn’t just a rushing offense in two TE looks, but they were a downfield passing attack as well.

At an EPA/play of 0.22 on passing attempts, Dallas’ 12 personnel led the team in passing efficiency of personnel groups with >25 snaps.

Both the TE1 and TE2 were legitimate receiving weapons with run after the catch ability. It made up for the Cowboys’ issues at WR that season and kept the offense less predictable in what is traditionally a run-heavy personnel group.

In 2023, the Cowboys weren’t so fortunate. With Schultz playing for the Texans and the rookie Luke Schoonmaker coming in to work behind Ferguson in most two TE looks, Dallas’ 12 personnel took a step back. For as good as Ferguson was in Year 2, Schoonmaker had a tough time assimilating as an NFL pass catcher.

The Cowboys used 12 personnel 119 times less than they did in the previous season, and overall used it four percent less than the league average (15.2% compared to 19.2%). Their EPA/pass of 0.14 in12 personnel group ranking behind their 11 personnel, 10 personnel and 21 personnel groups.

If the Cowboys move on from Michael Gallup in 2024, like many suspect they will, the offense will need to get more from their TE2 to make up for it.

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Watch: 5 best catches of the Cowboys 2023 season

From CeeDee Lamb to Jake Ferguson, these are the five best catches from the Dallas Cowboys on the 2023 season. | From @BenGrimaldi

The season has been over for a few weeks now for the Dallas Cowboys, and despite the disappointment of how it ended there were plenty of good moments to remember. For the offense, it might have taken a handful of weeks to get going, but the Cowboys wound up the No. 1 scoring team in the league at almost 30 points a game.

A large part of the offensive success was because of the passing game, which ranked third in the league in yards and helped quarterback Dak Prescott lead the NFL in passing touchdowns. There were some big plays and improbable catches to aid in their passing attack. Here are the five best catches for the 2023 season for the Cowboys.

The 4 most important 3rd-year players for the Cowboys in 2024

The Cowboys didn’t get a ton out of their rookie class, but these soon-to-be third-year players are tasked with making up the difference. | From @TimLettiero

The Dallas Cowboys are going to have to play the waiting game when it comes to their 2023 draft class. Things didn’t go according to plan with the group, as there was little initial impact from the group of youngsters, which has not been the norm with the club under Will McClay. It was all good the year prior, as the Cowboys have been getting plenty of contributions from the previous haul.

Dallas hit big time in the 2022 draft, and are starting to see the fruits of their labor. With multiple key contributors, some even high-end starters, this class is poised to be central to future championship pushes. Here are the four most important third-year players to watch in 2024.

‘You start now’: Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson ready to use brutal loss as fuel

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 2nd-year TE was a rare bright spot on Sunday, turning in career-best numbers. But he’s ready to start the grind toward the ’24 playoffs.

It’s admittedly too soon for Dallas fans to care much about silver linings from Sunday’s black-cloud disaster of a day in the wild-card round of the playoffs. But tight end Jake Ferguson was one of the few Cowboys who seemed to be up for the moment, even if he was as stunned as everyone else at how the day ended.

“It’s a tough one,” Ferguson told reporters at his locker following the 48-32 loss. “I don’t really have any words.”

Ferguson’s ten receptions led the team and represented a new career-high for the second-year man. The tight end, who will turn 25 on Thursday, also logged new personal bests with 12 targets, 93 receiving yards, and three touchdowns.

None of it was enough, though, to bring the Cowboys’ high-octane offense to life in time to make a difference.

“This is the NFL,” Ferguson explained. “This is playoff football. You’ve got to have more than one spark. You’ve got to keep playing. You’ve got to play continuously good football.”

Most of Ferguson’s teammates, though, did not play continuously good football on Sunday, and just like that, another months-long grind and promising 12-win season has ended with disappointed players quietly cleaning out their lockers while other squads move on.

“This work’s been going since last year,” Ferguson said. “And I think we’ve just got to learn from it.”

And although Dallas’s latest postseason loss will sting for a while, Ferguson has already turned the page.

“For starters, you get your ass in the weight room. You get your ass on the playbook. You start now. The offseason starts now. The preparation for next year starts now,” he promised.

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“So whatever I look back [on] and say, ‘Hey, Ferg, I was off on this or I was off on that or I need to be better in the run game or blocking or whatever it may be,’ that starts now for me.”

Given his marked improvement over an already-impressive rookie season, the idea that Ferguson is still on an upward trajectory is a glimmer of hope in the otherwise gloomy skies over Cowboys Nation today.

The team may have plenty of other questions as they come to grips with the fact that their 2023 campaign is over sooner than expected, but Jake Ferguson is locked in. And he’s already on to 2024.

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