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The Dallas Cowboys have a logjam at tight end

By Steven Mullenax

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 12: Rico Gathers #80 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after scoring a touchdown making the score 10-10 during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 12: Rico Gathers #80 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after scoring a touchdown making the score 10-10 during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The Dallas Cowboys have a plethora of tight end talent they will have to sift through this offseason. Let’s break them down.

One of the positions the Dallas Cowboys seem the most secure with right now is tight end. With a whopping five players expected to be on the roster once OTAs kick off, the Cowboys are going to need to make some hard choices come August. If not sooner.

Despite this surplus of talent on the roster, there is still speculation floating around that the Cowboys should consider drafting a tight end in the upcoming NFL Draft. This honestly has me scratching my head.

First off, no one is replacing Jason Witten as the Cowboys starter as long as the future Hall of Famer can somehow will himself onto the field. I truly believe Witten could grab 50+ balls a season even into his 40’s. They simply don’t make players like him anymore. The guy is old school tough.

Now let’s look at the rest of the roster. The other tight ends on the depth chart are James Hanna, Geoff Swaim, and Blake Jarwin. And let’s not forget Rico Gathers.

Hanna has one-year left on a three-year deal he signed back in 2016. He is scheduled to make $2.75 million this upcoming season and could certainly be a cap causality. But the Cowboys value Hanna as their most reliable blocker outside of Witten. And funny enough, Hanna emerged as Dallas’ lone deep threat last season reeling in four catches for 88 yards, registering an eyebrow raising 22.0 yards per reception.

Swaim was originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft as a blocker out of Texas. But he flashed more ability as a receiver his first year. Unfortunately, he seemed to take a step back in 2017, although the entire Cowboys offense did so too. Swaim also has just one year left on his rookie contract.

Jarwin was an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State that impressed the Cowboys enough to land on their practice squad. Dallas surprised everyone when they promoted him to the active roster during the regular season amid rumors that several other NFL teams were interested in possibly signing him away. Rather than losing Jarwin, Dallas kept four tight ends on their active roster. That should tell you what Dallas thinks about this young prospect.

Finally, there is former basketball star Rico Gathers. Attempting to make the difficult transition from one sport to another, Gathers was a preseason superstar, scoring two touchdowns last year. But a devastating head injury he suffered in practice last August, which resulted in a concussion and apparently a lower jaw and neck injury as well, forced the young tight end to miss the entire year on IR. It is hoped Gathers has now fully recovered from his injuries and is using this time to further develop himself.

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Obviously, the Dallas Cowboys have themselves a starter at tight end as long as Jason Witten can continue to play at a high level. Rico Gathers showed so much promise last year, I think it’s reasonable to assume they will keep developing him for at least another season. That leaves James Hanna, Geoff Swaim and Blake Jarwin battling it out for their roles this offseason. Although I won’t ruled out the Cowboys drafting a tight end in April, he’ll have to be pretty good to beat out the competition already in-house.

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