Dallas Cowboys: Expect big things from TE Blake Jarwin this season

The Dallas Cowboys inked tight end Blake Jarwin to a four-year extension this past offseason. Here’s why you should expect big things moving forward.

The Dallas Cowboys got some of their most important players locked up during this latest offseason, although they may have dropped the ball on one of the most important. Taking a more optimistic approach at the moment though, it was encouraging to see them get both tight end Blake Jarwin and wide receiver Amari Cooper locked into long-term deals.

In Jarwin’s case specifically, his was of the four-year variety and worth as much $24.25 million, with $9.25 million dollars guaranteed. With his lucrative new contract and the newly freed touches made available by the departure of Jason Witten to the Las Vegas Raiders, Jarwin should be in line for a big year.

This is the case indeed, at least from this direction and there are several reasons why I believe this to be so. Let’s get into a few of them.

The first reason, for me, is simply that he will have all of the opportunity and seemingly the first crack. With the above-made statements in mind about the former first stringer leaving and Jarwin’s major bump in salary, it is more than imaginable to believe that he will have the monopoly on snaps and touches from the tight end position.

The second reason is that he seemed to be a favorite target of Dak Prescott when he was in the game and got going. He didn’t have a ton of huge games, but in the games when he really got going, he got it going. That is the third reason, because when he and Dak are connecting, they really seem to be adept at making it a profitable one in this sense.

The last reason is simply due to his skill set, what you see when you look at him play. When you look at Jarwin’s game, you see a combination of some of the greatest talents from the skill sets of some of the best players to play the game at the position.

Just to use some of the names that are the apex of the position in recent years, but not to say he is individually any of or as good as any of the players mentioned, let’s look at three specific areas of Jarwin’s game.

Although his hands, which refers to his ability to actually catch the ball, could be more consistently better, he attacks the ball physically when he does. This characteristic is something you see from Rob Gronkowski, his doggedness towards meeting the ball in flight.

When you look at Jarwin’s ability to run after the catch with great wiggle and agility for a tight end, you think of Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. They are both capable of taking a short pass and turning it into major yardage with their ball-carrying ability.

When you look at the flip side of the finesse he shares with Kelce, he also has the ability to physically finish off these after the catch runs as well, just like George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers. These are all characteristics that Jarwin shares with the top tight ends in the game.

The issue is that he either hasn’t gotten the opportunity to or simply hasn’t displayed these skills on a consistent enough basis. Again, not that he is or will be any of the guys mentioned, he does have all of those skills in his tool chest.

That is undeniable and this season should provide the stage to put those tools on full display. That is why we should all expect big things from the Dallas Cowboys tight end in this coming season.