Rookie report: Gavin Escobar

[Cotton]

Rookie report: Gavin Escobar
November, 14, 2013

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

With the Cowboys off this week, we take a look at how their draft picks have fared.

Gavin Escobar, tight end

Pick: Second round (No. 47 overall)

13What he's done: Escobar has been active for every game but he has yet to play more than 22 offensive snaps in any of them. He has played double-digit snaps just twice in the last eight games. He has four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, but he has gone five games without a catch.

Season outlook: When he was picked in the second round, the Cowboys touted their move to a two-tight end offense that would be different than the experiments of years past with Anthony Fasano and Martellus Bennett. While "12 personnel," is the staple grouping, James Hanna has taken the bulk of the snaps behind Jason Witten.

The Cowboys knew Escobar would struggle as a blocker as a rookie, but they have not done enough to use his best traits. He can go after the ball. He moves well down the seam. He can be a mismatch for corners, safeties or linebackers. Getting him the ball on an offense with Dez Bryant, Witten and other players in larger roles is a challenge. So far this does not look like the wisest choice of a second-round pick, but Jason Garrett is preaching patience.

 

[Rev]

What he's done is a funny question.

 

[boozeman]

Watch...the new spin won't be that he was drafted to be a part of a 2-TE attack but rather replace Witten and needs to "remake his body".

Seen this type of excuse-making before when we redshirt a bad draft pick.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Ppppffffffttttttttthhhhhhhhhhh

 

[ravidubey]

Watch...the new spin won't be that he was drafted to be a part of a 2-TE attack but rather replace Witten and needs to "remake his body".

Seen this type of excuse-making before when we redshirt a bad draft pick.

My take from the start on this guy has been that he's a reach by at least a couple of rounds because of his lack of both speed and blocking ability. That we took him over viable OL and DL is inexcusable.

 

[jsmith6919]

I think it was a reach too,imo Garrett was actually really wanting Eifert not Floyd when Jerry traded back and Escobar was his consolation prize

 

[junk]

I expected the report to be something along the lines of "Yes, he is still on the team and his jersey is #89"

 

[Cotton]

Garrett preaches patience with Escobar

November, 15, 2013

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- Ten games into his NFL career and Gavin Escobar has four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.

When the Dallas Cowboys made him a somewhat surprisingly second-round pick, there were automatic expectations for Escobar. Though they knew he would need time to develop as a blocker -- something coach Jason Garrett has repeated as often as his “process” talk -- Escobar could be a factor in the passing game with the Cowboys using more two-tight-end sets.

Everybody is still waiting.

After playing at least 15 snaps in each of the first three games, Escobar has played fewer than 10 snaps in five of the last seven.

“Certainly his production hasn’t been overwhelming,” Garrett said. “When we evaluate one of the things you try to do -- and is something I thought about a lot as a player, I emphasize this a lot to young players -- is if there’s an Escobar tape, and the Escobar tape has nothing to do with anybody else’s tape, these are Escobar’s plays, ‘How’d I do on my plays?’ If we evaluate the Escobar tape, he’s done some good things. And what we think as coaches is, ‘He’s done good things, let’s keep giving him more opportunities.’ One of the challenges that he has is Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray, Terrance Williams, Miles Austin, Cole Beasley -- when some of these other guys emerge, they’re competing for opportunities.”

There might not be enough footballs to go around, but then that speaks to the decision-making in taking a tight end in the second round. The Cowboys have wanted to be a heavy “12 personnel” team in the past. It never took off with Anthony Fasano. It never took off with Martellus Bennett.

Fasano and Bennett were second-round picks too.

This time it was supposed to be different. The two-tight-end grouping is the Cowboys’ base offensive set, but Escobar has not been able to beat out James Hanna.

“I think James does some things better at this point,” Garrett said. “His experience certainly helps him. If you look at Hanna from last year, he came in as a sixth-round pick middle of the year last year. He kind of started to emerge as a guy who could do some stuff for us and made some plays down the stretch. Development happens and those opportunities happen and each one of the pieces we have to get going a little bit more.”

When they picked Travis Frederick in the first round, eyebrows were raised, but Frederick’s strong play has justified the decision. Escobar’s lack of production just makes it seem as if the Cowboys have missed on a second-round pick when they had other needs to fill.

Garrett chose to dip into the Cowboys’ archives for those who want instant success from a second-round pick.

“Darren Woodson was a special-teams player his first year,” Garrett said of the Cowboys’ No. 2 pick in 1992. “He was taken in the second round. You’re arguing my point. He was a special-teams player, and he went on to have one of the great careers. So just because right at this moment the guy doesn’t come in and take the league by storm ... [Escobar] has done a nice job for us with the opportunities we’ve given him. We’re going to keep growing those opportunities and hopefully he continues to get better and better and better.”

 

[BipolarFuk]

OK, Jason. Darren Woodson was really good in his second year. I guess we can expect the start of an arguable HOF career from Pablo next year.

 

[Rev]

Garret preaches patience with Matt Johnson

 

[E_D_Guapo]

Again, you guys are simply failing to use your imaginations.

Jones Recaps Draft, Previews 2012 With Season Ticket Holders
Posted May 2, 2013
David Helman DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer


IRVING, Texas – Cowboys season ticket holders had a chance to speak with owner/general manager Jerry Jones on Thursday. Jones participated in a conference call open to all season ticket holders, talking for roughly an hour with a line of more than 1,000 callers.

Here are some of the highlights from the call:

On new tight end draftee Gavin Escobar:

“There are qualities of every player. The thing that excited us about Escobar, was, teamed with Witten, and his athletic ability to catch the ball. Picture Romo buying some time, we’re in the redzone, and throwing that ball up with Escobar on the run, catching it back over his shoulder or making a circus catch. We had that to some degree with Martellus Bennett, but it was not consistent.

Escobar along with Hanna, and of course Witten, will allow us to really give defenses fits.”

This quote still defines Jerry Jones to me. Up in front of a crowd of his season ticket holders (edit: on a conference call I guess...whatever), putting on a show, really laying the salesman on extra thick. Disgusting.

 

[boozeman]

“Darren Woodson was a special-teams player his first year,” Garrett said of the Cowboys’ No. 2 pick in 1992. “He was taken in the second round. You’re arguing my point. He was a special-teams player, and he went on to have one of the great careers. So just because right at this moment the guy doesn’t come in and take the league by storm ... [Escobar] has done a nice job for us with the opportunities we’ve given him. We’re going to keep growing those opportunities and hopefully he continues to get better and better and better.”

Sounds just like Fat Wade.

Nothing but a slimmer red-headed faggot excuse-maker.

You can always tell when a coach had a say in a bust...they defend them just like this. Phillips was doing the same exact shit with Jason Williams.

 

[Genghis Khan]

OK, Jason. Darren Woodson was really good in his second year. I guess we can expect the start of an arguable HOF career from Pablo next year.

Woodson was also behind two very good safeties in Washington and Everett. And he was drafted onto a super bowl team. Escobar was drafted onto a .500 with James Frigging Hanna ahead of him.

 

[p1_]

Sounds just like Fat Wade.

Nothing but a slimmer red-headed faggot excuse-maker.

You can always tell when a coach had a say in a bust...they defend them just like this. Phillips was doing the same exact shit with Jason Williams.

I would go a step further and say Garrett is an eloquent Jerry Jones.