Hairopoulos: Is Rico Gathers already the second TE on the Cowboys' depth chart? Not so fast...

[Cotton]

Is Rico Gathers already the second TE on the Cowboys' depth chart? Not so fast...
By Kate Hairopoulos , Staff Writer

Kate Hairopoulos, Cowboys beat writer for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News, answered questions about the team in a live chat recently. Here are some highlights:

Would you say that on the tight end depth chart, Rico Gathers is second behind just Jason Witten?

Hairopoulos: Nope. I know the Rico TD grab -- and thoughtful celebration afterward -- are just what fans have been dying to see from the Rico Gathers Rebounds to Touchdowns project. But James Hanna is healthy and looking good and Geoff Swaim is back as well. Rico still needs to prove he can handle all the roles of a tight end consistently. Is he a great target to toss the ball up to in the end zone? Absolutely.

Is Jason Witten a Hall of Fame lock?

Hairopoulos: He's the Cowboys all-time leading receiver and will become the leader in receptions, most likely in the season opener against the Giants. He's incredibly only missed one game in his career. As my colleague David Moore pointed out last week, the only real reason to think he's anything less than a lock is because tight ends are sometimes overlooked in Canton. There are only eight in the Hall of Fame. But I think he's getting a gold jacket.

If Jaylon Smith does play this weekend how much time do you think he'll get out on the field?

Hairopoulos: The Cowboys are going to be very cautious with Jaylon. They want him in proper football shape and don't want to risk any kind of setback. I'll personally be surprised if he plays this weekend, and if he does, I bet it will be quite limited. That's not because he hasn't surpassed expectations out here -- he has -- I just see them being extra careful.

If Orlando Scandrick gets pushed out of the starting CB rotation do you think he'll ask to be traded? Bet that wouldn't sit well with him after the trade rumors. Young guys look good!

Hairopoulos: Scandrick is the team's best CB right now.

 

[Smitty]

I heard them say on one of the team website shows that he missed 7 assignments during the game..

So he still has a ways to go.

 

[BipolarFuk]

Is Jason Witten a Hall of Fame lock?

Hairopoulos: He's the Cowboys all-time leading receiver and will become the leader in receptions,

Is this backwards?

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I heard them say on one of the team website shows that he missed 7 assignments during the game..

So he still has a ways to go.

He does. But at this point he has shown too much potential to make it to the practice squad. So yeah, we will have to keep him on the roster this year, even if it's just to stash him for one more year in the hopes that by 2018 he is ready to be a big part of the offense.

 

[Cotton]

Is this backwards?

Yes.

 

[DLK150]

Depending on the how the rest of the preseason plays out, I think Gathers is #4, maaaaybe #3. IMO, he's not going to beat out guys like Swaim or Hanna for the #2 spot based on his lack of experience at the position alone.

 

[DLK150]

He does. But at this point he has shown too much potential to make it to the practice squad. So yeah, we will have to keep him on the roster this year, even if it's just to stash him for one more year in the hopes that by 2018 he is ready to be a big part of the offense.

There's such a small sample size to go by, I don't know if he would be *that* big of a loss because again, he's still mostly potential. He probably wouldn't make it through the season on the PS but this team has depth issues at other positions, particularly on defense and the offense probably wouldn't miss a beat without him.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

There's such a small sample size to go by, I don't know if he would be *that* big of a loss because again, he's still mostly potential. He probably wouldn't make it through the season on the PS but this team has depth issues at other positions, particularly on defense and the offense probably wouldn't miss a beat without him.

Maybe he wouldn't be a big loss but he is really the only young and talented TE on the roster. Guys like Hanna and Swaim are nice blocking #2 TE types but they are pretty much at the top of their potential already. They aren't guy who will ever be someone you want as your starting TE.

Gathers is the one TE on our roster with the potential to be more than that. Now maybe he never reaches that potential but it doesn't make sense to me to have two sort of meh guys in Swaim and Hanna but no talented guy developing. You don't need both Swaim and Hanna because they are basically the same thing. Gathers at least brings something special to the table.

 

[BipolarFuk]

I think Gathers has way too much potential to even think about the PS.

Play the shit out of him for the rest of the preseason like they said and see if anything is really there.

 

[DLK150]

Maybe he wouldn't be a big loss but he is really the only young and talented TE on the roster. Guys like Hanna and Swaim are nice blocking #2 TE types but they are pretty much at the top of their potential already. They aren't guy who will ever be someone you want as your starting TE.

Gathers is the one TE on our roster with the potential to be more than that. Now maybe he never reaches that potential but it doesn't make sense to me to have two sort of meh guys in Swaim and Hanna but no talented guy developing. You don't need both Swaim and Hanna because they are basically the same thing. Gathers at least brings something special to the table.

How talented he is remains to be seen but it's true that outside of Witten we only have run blocking TEs for the most part. I still view Gathers as a project though.

Witten was a great combination of a run blocking/pass catching TE even if he never had what I would describe as elite speed. Part of Witten's success was pure desire. I just think the jury's still out on Gathers until he shows it live action during the regular season. I'm just not sold yet.

 

[lostxn]

How talented he is remains to be seen but it's true that outside of Witten we only have run blocking TEs for the most part. I still view Gathers as a project though.

Witten was a great combination of a run blocking/pass catching TE even if he never had what I would describe as elite speed. Part of Witten's success was pure desire. I just think the jury's still out on Gathers until he shows it live action during the regular season. I'm just not sold yet.

No, he can play in the NFL. Right now he's gonna make huge plays and huge mistakes. So you have to use him sparingly and likely exclusively as a receiver. Zero chance we put him on the PS. He'll never make it to the PS.

 

[p1_]

Is this backwards?

Witten trails Irvin in yardage currently by approx 500 yards.

 

[p1_]

Dont forget that, until last preseason, this guy had seen a football field since freakin junior high.