Tag: tight end position

Cowboys’ Dalton Schultz isn’t relinquishing TE1 role without a fight

Dalton Schultz filled Blake Jarwin’s shoes nicely in 2020. He’s continued that momentum into training camp, creating major competition. | From @StarConscience

When the Cowboys lost tight end Blake Jarwin in the last year’s season opener to a torn ACL, there were questions about how the position would fair for the rest of the year. Fortunately, Dalton Schultz was ready to step up and fill his shoes.

Schultz had just 13 receptions for 122 yards before the 2020 season. With the keys to the position firmly in his grasp, Schultz became only the fourth tight end in team history to record at least 60 receptions (63) while also amassing 615 yards and four touchdowns. That certainly exceeded any expectations anyone had for Schultz with such limited time on the field in his first two years.

The more time a player spends on the field the more confident they become, seeing as experience is the best teacher. After just 417 snaps in his first two seasons, Schultz logged 973 in 2020 while registering 14 starts. Although it gave his confidence a boost, he’s never lacked in that area.

“It definitely helps with my confidence,” Schultz said back in May. “But I say that, and I had a lot of confidence going into last year before any of those catches in those games happened. If anything, I just think it kind of springboarded my confidence in myself and continued to lead me to focus even more on my techniques and hone in on that work with Dak [Prescott] and getting the little nuances down in certain coverages and different routes. So I think it opened the door to a whole new level of preparation, and I’m excited to continue to go forth in my preparation this year.”

The former Stanford Cardinal has ridden the wave of momentum from his breakout campaign into Oxnard, California where the Cowboys are holding their first leg of training camp. Schultz has been making plays left and right, and he’s made the competition for TE1 duties that much more intriguing as Jarwin looks to regain his spot at the head of the table.

Schultz isn’t just looking to secure his role within the Cowboy’s offense in 2021, he’s also in a contract year. However he’s treating it like any other season as he looks to continue his progression as a player.

“Whether it’s a contract year or not, I’ve got to improve regardless,” Schultz said during OTAs. “I don’t treat this as like, ‘OK, this is the one year that I’ve got to ball out.’ No, I treat it like I treated last year. I’ve got to get better day to day. I’ve got to do the same things. We have this saying that I learned in college; it’s called the law of the price tag. You’ve got to make deposits on it day to day. The price never decreases. It only increases, and it has to be paid in full at all times. I’m continuing to do that.

“You’ve got to be better than you were the day before, and you’ve got to put more in than you did the day before. I think that’s one of the keys to having a long career, and that’s something that I hope to do. So I continue to approach each year like that.”

The Cowboys are in a great spot at tight end.

They have two guys who can be No. 1 options and the smart money says NFL defenses will see 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) looks from the Cowboys quite a bit.

Who will come out on top as the lead dog at the tight end position in Dallas? That remains to be seen. However, if Jarwin is to reestablish himself as TE1, he’ll have to take it from Schultz.

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