Dallas Cowboys: Can Dalton Schultz repeat against Seattle?

Dallas Cowboys Tight End Dalton Schultz had a career game Week 2. Can it continue?

It seemed out of nowhere that Dallas Cowboys Tight End Dalton Schultz was able to catch nine passes for 88 yards against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. Schultz filled a position meant to be owned by tight end Blake Jarwin before his Week 1 torn ACL, instantly ending his one-game reign over the position.

Shockingly, it was a player who had a total of 14 career catches before last Sunday that was able to step-up for the Cowboys. Can this continue for the third-year tight end?

The significance of the nine receptions for Schultz was it was the most receptions by a Dallas tight end since 2017 when former tight end Jason Witten had 10 against the Denver Broncos Week 2. There has been a drought at the position ever since the aging of Witten began and the roulette of tight ends started with the first retirement of Witten in 2018.

Schultz now is tasked with starting at the position for the rest of the season and provide enough production to keep the offense flowing.

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Schultz showed something in last week’s game that wasn’t seen for a long time in America’s Teams offense, a bit of speed in the flats. The tight end position for the organization is fairly simple, block mostly and be prepared to be wide open in the flats off play-action.

Schultz gave that to the team and was rewarded with the ten targets. Going forward is this realistic though?

What to expect versus the Seattle Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks defense has only given up five receptions to tight ends so far this season. One of those games was against the anti-tight end offense of the New England Patriots but still very low target and reception rates for opposing tight ends.

Broadening the historical trends, the last time Dallas faced Seattle, in the 2018 NFC Wild Card game, there were only three catches by a Cowboys tight end. The trends don’t favor Schultz going into this game but the reality of the situation does.

With the recent play of America’s Team’s defense, allowing 60 points between the first two games, and the MVP-caliber play of quarterback Russell Wilson, there is reason to believe the Cowboys need points. This could mean the more fast tempo and pass-heavy offense Dallas has shown the first two weeks during the second halves of each game. That favors Schultz.

Weighing those two factors it is safe to say that the performance of the tight end will fall in the middle, a solid 5 to 7 catches and over 60 yards will be appreciated for the Week 3 contest in Seattle.