The surprise retirement of Jason Witten had left the Cowboys stunned and unprepared heading into the offseason this year. For the first time in over a decade, #82 will not be the starter at TE for the Cowboys. If Witten’s retirement wasn’t devastating enough for the team his primary back up last year James Hanna also decided to hang up his cleats. Now the cast of characters remaining on the roster that will be battling it out to inherit Witten’s job is inexperienced to say the very least. In fact only Geoff Swaim has any actual game experience whatsoever and that is limited to 9 career starts and 9 career receptions. So this year there will be an open competition to decide who will be the next starting TE for the Dallas Cowboys.
Swaim has the definite edge in experience but he is also the best blocking TE as it currently stands. It is because of his ability as a blocker and his knowledge of the offensive scheme that Swaim is considered the favorite to win the job. While Swaim may be the favorite take over as the starte, nothing is guaranteed.
Blake Jarwin is the most likely favorite to unseat Swaim as the projected starter. Hardcore Cowboy fans took notice of Jarwin last season when the Cowboys signed him from the practice squad in order to avoid allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to poach him from their roster. Adding Jarwin to the active roster as a 4th tight last year spoke volumes about how much the Cowboys liked Jarwin because they could have used the additional roster spot for multiple other positions. This season during training camp, Jarwin is not disappointing the coaching staff. He has emerged as a favorite target for Dak Prescott and has looked impressive thus far. Jarwin is also a decent blocker and if he shows a solid understanding of the offense he may well be the starter heading into week 1.
The Cowboys also drafted Dalton Shultz in the 4th round of the draft this year the very next day after Witten announced his retirement. Considered a high value pick at that point in the draft, Schultz has the makings of a true every down TE who can catch and block. He is a still a rookie however, and rookie TE’s do not typically make a significant impact right away in the NFL. He will likely need time to develop to really become heavily involved in the offense. I do fully anticipate that he will have a defined role this year and will contribute to the offense to some small degree.
Then finally there is Rico Gathers. Cowboy fans have been waiting for him to get an opportunity and last season his alleged concussion derailed his entire season. His injury was very disappointing after he impressed during the pre-season in 2017. Gathers is a freak athlete with exceptional hands and rare size. He is the type of prototypical red zone target that most offensive co-ordinates dream about having on their team. The problem with the former basketball player is that he was drafted into the NFL without having played college football. He is far behind in terms of his blocking and football knowledge. This may be too much of an obstacle for him to overcome on a team that values blocking as much as the Dallas Cowboys do. My inclination is that he will not make the final 53 man roster. My desire, which aligns with most Cowboy fans, is that Jason Garrett finds a way to keep him on the team and use him purely in the passing game as a red-zone target.
It is unclear now which TE’s will make the team and even more unclear who will be named the starter. It does appear likely that no matter who wins the starting job, this is ultimately going to be a TE committee. The Cowboys will miss Jason Witten without a doubt. They will miss his leadership, consistency, and reliability. Not a single one of the TE’s on this roster will be able to step in and fill his shoes. However, I am optimistic that this young and athletic group of TE’s will offer more as a group than Witten provided alone at this stage in his career.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
All statistics and data obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/