Fear of Jason Witten’s decline led the Dallas Cowboys to pick TE Gavin Escobar

Jiggyfly

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Fear of Jason Witten’s decline led the Dallas Cowboys to pick TE Gavin Escobar
By Rainer Sabin rsabin@dallasnews.com
10:36 pm on October 23, 2014 | Permalink


Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar (89) bowls the football after scoring a third quarter touchdown against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, October 19, 2014. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)

IRVING — Almost 17 months after he joined the Cowboys, Gavin Escobar still invites curiosity. No one really knows what to make of the 6-6 tight end. The former second-round choice may be the most intriguing player left from the 2013 draft class, which has turned out to pretty darn good.


Until he made two touchdown catches last Sunday, Escobar seemed nothing more than a luxury item for the Cowboys’ offense, like an old Gull-wing Mercedes that someone buys simply to possess it without any intention of taking it out for a spin.

But Escobar wasn’t that, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones insists. Rather, he was viewed as an eventual replacement for perennial Pro Bowler Jason Witten and a potential linchpin in a two-tight-end passing game. In 2013, the Cowboys were contemplating a future with Witten in decline. It’s something the organization appeared to be considering as far back as 2008, when they used a second-round pick on a different tight end, Martellus Bennett.

“One thing you learn with Jason, which is part of his greatness, is that it’s difficult to beat Jason out to get playing time,” Jones said. “He wants to get as many plays as he can . He’s still getting them. He’s really defying what a lot of people would say is Father Time. So whether it’s Martellus or Escobar, you think at some point, ‘When will Jason ‘s career slow down?’ But it obviously hasn’t.

“And the other thought process was, hey, there are a lot of people having a lot of success with two tight ends and we thought long and hard about that with Jason, that we really did well with the 12 and 22 personnel. And we still believe [Escobar's] a really great pick for us.”

That’s debatable. He’s made only 16 catches for 219 yards and five touchdowns in his career. There hasn’t been enough production to suggest he’s a rising star. But maybe last Sunday’s performance is indeed a harbinger for things to come. The Cowboys certainly hope so as they try to extract more out of their intriguing tight end.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yeah, we drafted Bennett to replace Witten. How old was Witten when we drafted Bennett? Or Fasano?

Sorry, we didn't draft Escobar as a replacement. We drafted Escobar to fill out the deadly two TE set that we wanted to implement.
 

boozeman

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Yeah...I don't believe that.
Nor do I. That last little bit where Goof Son uses big boy football talk gave that away. They have wanted a two-TE offense for a while. It was a staple of Coryell's old systems and Parcells probably left that little nugget in Jerry's brain as well.
 

Genghis Khan

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Nor do I. That last little bit where Goof Son uses big boy football talk gave that away. They have wanted a two-TE offense for a while. It was a staple of Coryell's old systems and Parcells probably left that little nugget in Jerry's brain as well.
Yep. Especially since Witten was what, 30 when they drafted Escobar? No way they were worried about life after Witten at that point.
 

Genghis Khan

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Oh and Witten was coming off a 110 catch, 1000 yard season.

Doesn't pass the smell test.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yep. Especially since Witten was what, 30 when they drafted Escobar? No way they were worried about life after Witten at that point.
Not only that but since when does Jerry use second round picks with foresight? When Jerry makes a second round pick he expects it to be an immediate contributor. Jerry's logic has always been that if you develop that player for a couple of years they will bolt to a new team with all the work you've put into them.
 

Clay_Allison

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Not only that but since when does Jerry use second round picks with foresight? When Jerry makes a second round pick he expects it to be an immediate contributor. Jerry's logic has always been that if you develop that player for a couple of years they will bolt to a new team with all the work you've put into them.
It's weird considering their love for small school projects that don't pan out. You'd think their philosophy would be more big-school pro-ready players with less bust potential.
 

jsmith6919

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Yep. Especially since Witten was what, 30 when they drafted Escobar? No way they were worried about life after Witten at that point.
Yep, that Jerry made Garrett promise he'd find a way to use Escobar before he ok'd drafting him tells the true story
 
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