If Cowboys Tight End Dalton Schultz does indeed hit the open market, he’ll be one of the most desirable players at his position for needy teams. He’ll be expected to earn a healthy chunk of money in 2023. The team who pays him, however, will not likely be the Dallas Cowboys.
Schultz’s 10.1 yards per catch was ranked 100 out of the top 100 receivers from around the league. That was expectedly better than every other qualifying Cowboys TE, but not by much. Perhaps not enough to justify paying him in the vicinity of the $10,931,000 he earned last season on the franchise tag.
DAK PRESCOTT ➡️ DALTON SCHULTZ 🎯
Cowboys lead!
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/neQgLCINFM
— ESPN (@espn) January 17, 2023
The Cowboys are likely to pull from the draft, as well as continue developing their two promising rookies from 2022. Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot both managed to showcase their potential within the confines of their limited roles and playing time.
His rookie campaign for the Cowboys wasn’t unlike former… stars
Ferguson was a fourth round pick out of Wisconsin. His rookie campaign for the Cowboys wasn’t unlike former backups who turned out to be stars at the tight end position. He churned out 19 receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns.
He was one of the bright spots in the Thanksgiving Day victory against the Giants. He got wide open before hurdling a defender for a big gain.
Take the time to watch this 45 second clip of #Cowboys rookie TE Jake Ferguson (6-5, 244lbs) (@jqfergy11) hurdling #Giants S Jason Pinnock.
The Dallas TE room is loaded with talent: Schultz, Ferguson, Hendershot. The @dallascowboys media team does tremendous work with these.🎥 pic.twitter.com/LfnotCbRnw
— ProFootballChase™️ (@pfootballchase) November 30, 2022
Peyton Hendershot was also a rookie Tight End in 2022 who went undrafted. The Cowboys snagged him out of free agency. He put up decent numbers for his limited time on the field with 11 catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns. He also has the ability to leap defenders. More importantly, he averaged 9.4 yards per catch on the season.
Without a trade down, they’ll probably have to wait
Coaches have already visited with Dalton Kincaid from Utah, who is projected to be drafted early in the second round. Since their first pick is at #26 it would seemingly be too early to take him. Without a trade down, they’ll probably have to wait until the later rounds. That’s not such a bad thing.
This year’s crop of Tight Ends in the draft is widely recognized to be brimming with talent. Even if somehow the Cowboys miss their plentiful chances to draft one, the undrafted free agents could yield a couple of gems as well.
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