Dallas Cowboys: Will Rico Gathers be able to crack the 53?

With tight end being one of the most open position battles in camp, will Rico Gathers be able to crack the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster this season?

For the past 14 years the Dallas Cowboys, have not had to worry about the tight end position. Future Hall of Famer Jason Witten manned down the position and kept the Cowboys from ever having to explore other options.

This season, after Witten’s retirement, all of that changes. It will be the first time since 2003 that Dallas will not have a clear starter at tight end during training camp.

As far as the current roster is concerned, the tight end position battle is arguably the most open battle in camp this year, with no clear favorite at the position. The four real tight end candidates battling for a roster spot in camp are Blake Jarwin, Geoff Swaim, Dalton Schultz and of course, Rico Gathers.

Of the four, Swaim is the only tight end who has caught a pass in the NFL but only has two catches for 25 yards in his short career. With the lack of experience from all the tight ends, it seems the battle will come down to who is the most talented, and maybe who has the most upside.

If the Cowboys decide to go this route, it may favor second-year man Rico Gathers. The former Baylor basketball player spent the 2017 season on the Dallas practice squad and battled injuries in an overall very odd season.

After suffering the concussion in August, Gathers was not really heard from for the rest of the year or even talked about by the Cowboys coaching staff.

Although it was a tumultuous 2017 season for Gathers, and no one outside of the Cowboys building is really 100% sure what was going on, he still does possess an outstanding athletic ability and a chance to become a dominant force at the tight end position.

The question for the Cowboys this year will be is Gathers polished enough to be worth keeping on your 53-man roster, and will he be ready to contribute at all this season?

For Gathers, the game of football is still new to him and it shows the most in his blocking. Dallas loves to run the football and relies heavily on their tight ends to block in the run game, so this is something Gathers must improve on if he wants to make the roster.

Although the competition is wide open, you have to figure baring injury Geoff Swaim will make the roster, and fourth-round pick Dalton Schultz also seems like a pretty safe pick to make the team. That puts Gathers in a battle with Blake Jarwin for the final tight end spot, two guys who are more known for their pass catching ability than being solid blockers.

Gathers is most likely more of an upside guy with more potential, but can Dallas afford to keep a guy on their roster who may not be able to contribute this whole season? If Gathers is able to crack the 53 man roster, the Cowboys will have to be creative to find a way to get him on the field in spots he is able to produce.

With his outstanding size at 6-foot-6, 285 lbs., Gathers could be a dangerous red-zone threat if used effectively. His background as a basketball player gives him experience in boxing players out, which is similar to trying to catch passes in the red zone near the goal line.

Although he possesses all the physical talent in the world, for Rico Gathers he is going to have to improve on his blocking to make this team. With the regularity that Dallas runs the football if Gathers cannot be at least serviceable in the run game, I would imagine Blake Jarwin will be the pick at the third tight end spot this season.