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By Jon Machota 2h ago
The Cowboys continued following their plan of not spending big in free agency. They filled some holes and added depth, but most of the notable remaining roster changes will come via this month’s NFL Draft.
This is the eighth installment of a nine-part series split up by position groups.
Part 1: Defensive line
Part 2: Linebackers
Part 3: Defensive backs
Part 4: Offensive line
Part 5: Quarterbacks
Part 6: Running backs
Part 7: Wide receivers
We’re finishing up the offensive side of the ball today by looking at the tight ends.
How the tight ends performed in 2020:
With Jason Witten no longer on the roster, it was supposed to be a year when Blake Jarwin thrived in the passing game as the team’s clear No. 1 tight end. But that didn’t even last for a half as Jarwin exited the season opener in the second quarter with a season-ending right knee injury.
Dalton Schultz, a fourth-round pick in 2018, stepped into the No. 1 spot and played well. He started 14 games and had a career year with 63 receptions, 615 yards and four touchdowns. To compare, over the previous two seasons combined, Schultz had only 13 receptions for 122 yards and no touchdowns.
Behind him was veteran Blake Bell, whom the Cowboys signed to a one-year deal the previous offseason. Bell caught 11 passes for 110 yards.
Schultz played the third-most offensive snaps of anyone on the roster at 973 (85 percent). Bell played 359 and undrafted rookie free agent tight end Sean McKeon played 65. Bell (163 snaps) and McKeon (138) were also significant contributors on special teams.
The future:
Jarwin is expected to make a full recovery and return to the starting lineup after having surgery to repair a torn ACL. He had the procedure in September and was seen on the practice field working off to the side in December.
The good news for the Cowboys is that Schultz emerged as a starting-caliber player last season, giving Dallas good depth at the position this season. Bell signed a one-year contract in March with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team he played for before joining the Cowboys last season. Dallas filled his roster spot by signing veteran Jeremy Sprinkle earlier this month.
Sprinkle was a fifth-round pick by Washington in 2017. He’s expected to help as more of a blocking tight end than a pass catcher. In his previous four seasons, Sprinkle started 33 of the 59 games he played in, catching 34 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns.
McKeon also remains on the roster.
How things could change this offseason:
Jarwin is under contract through the 2023 season. McKeon is under contract for two more. Schultz and Sprinkle are both signed only through the 2021 season.
Although there are several more important needs to address, particularly on defense, tight end is still a position to watch in the draft. The Athletic’s draft expert, Dane Brugler, recently mocked Boise State tight end John Bates to the Cowboys in the sixth round.
What’s most interesting about the position and this draft is that an extremely rare talent is in this class. Florida’s Kyle Pitts is regarded as one of the best tight end prospects in quite some time. ESPN has reported that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is “infatuated” with Pitts.
While every team is probably infatuated with Pitts’ uncommon size, athletic ability and catch radius, he’s not expected to fall to Dallas’ spot at Pick 10. So is Jones so intrigued that he’s willing to trade up for Pitts? A move inside the top five picks would probably be required. That would likely cost the Cowboys at least a first- and a second-round pick. And that could mean giving up as much as No. 10 this year and next year’s first. As great a prospect as Pitts is, there are just too many holes on defense to be that committed to adding another offensive weapon.
If Pitts somehow slipped to Dallas at No. 10, which is highly unlikely, then things would get interesting. The Cowboys needed defense last year but went with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb at No. 17 because he was viewed as a top-10 prospect they never thought would be available. With Pitts, Jarwin, Lamb, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, Dallas would be expected to have one of the league’s top passing attacks.
But that could still be the case even without Pitts, if quarterback Dak Prescott is fully recovered from his season-ending ankle injury and both starting offensive tackles, La’el Collins and Tyron Smith, can stay healthy for the majority of the season.
What makes more sense is drafting a tight end somewhere between Rounds 4 and 6. According to Brugler’s annual draft guide, the Cowboys could target a blocking tight end like Michigan’s Ben Mason or a pass catcher like UCF’s Jacob Harris in the fifth round. Boston College’s Hunter Long is a late-third, early-fourth type prospect who has the ability to do both. Georgia’s Tre McKitty could be a possibility in the late fifth or early sixth.
“A well-built, balanced athlete, McKitty has strong hands and the ability to make catches with defenders draped all over him,” Brugler wrote. “As a blocker, he needs to improve his sustain skills, but he plays with the pop, power and toughness to be a solid positional block.”
