Dallas Cowboys Offseason Plans: Three Burning Questions
By Carl Daley
Is the tight end position the Cowboys primary target in the first round of the NFL Draft?
The Cowboys veteran tight end Jason Witten is still the teams most productive player at his position and that may need to change as he enters the twilight of his career. Witten is still productive but the Cowboys need to begin thinking about the future. The heir to Witten’s starting job could be in this years NFL draft class.
The primary answer does not jump out at me from the tight ends heading into free agency in March so Dallas will likely focus on the draft as a source of their next playmaking tight end. There are two players that immediately stand out, Alabama’s O.J. Howard, and Michigan’s Jake Butt.
Howard will be the first tight end off the board in the draft so it may be wishful thinking to believe that he will fall to the 28th spot but stranger things have happened. Howard is a dynamic, big bodied, playmaker who really could have a chance to dominate in the Dallas offense.
Butt is more of a “Jaylon Smith” style gamble. The Cowboys knew it would be a tough road of recovery but took a shot on the talented linebacker anyway. Smith who is now looking to make a huge impact on the field in 2017 has recovered from a severe knee injury that left him with nerve damage, he was the highest ranked player in the 2016 draft prior to his injury. The former Michigan tight end tore his ACL in the Orange Bowl and suffered nerve damage.
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It is unknown if he would be ready for the 2017 NFL regular season but he could be added to the roster and given a year to recover. There may be another answer in the later rounds as the draft unfolds. An interesting name is Nebraska’s Cethan Carter whom has shown flashes of versatile playmaking ability.
Listed at 6’3, 234 pounds, Carter may be a bit undersized for the position but is worth a flier in the seventh round as he was a constant defensive mismatch and capable downfield threat.