Dallas Cowboys: Should Dalton Schultz start over Blake Jarwin?

Weighing the Options

The Dallas Cowboys hold before them two tight ends that will put up numbers offensively. You probably heard this plenty of times, but there is not much salary cap room for the team this season.

Trimming the spending at a surplus position is something Jerry Jones may do. One player will likely stand as the go-to tight end for the Dallas Cowboys.

The matchup is closer than some may believe. We don’t have a starting season from Jarwin to evaluate, but we get a glimpse of how he would play from his 2019 season. I will compare Jarwin’s efficiency in 2019 to Schultz’s 2020 season.

Blake played only 39 percent of the offensive snaps during the 2019 campaign. Let’s double his stats to mimic him playing 78 percent of the offensive snaps, which is still six percent less than Schultz played in 2020.

Jarwin played the 2019 season with a pace that would see him catch 62 passes for 730 yards and six touchdowns. That surpasses Schultz’s 2020 season by 115 yards and two touchdowns. That is also with the latter having one more catch.

Jarwin’s 75.6 percent catching percentage is better than Schultz’s by 4.8 percent. Jarwin would have caught one more first down; meanwhile, Schultz would break six more tackles.

Something that surprised me was Dalton’s average yards after the catch, beating Blake’s by 0.2. Schultz’s ability to break tackles helped him make big plays; meanwhile, Jarwin’s speed was the root of his.

Regarding their contracts, Schultz is entering the last year of his rookie contract, while Jarwin is entering year-two of his four-year, $22 million contract. Cutting ties with Jarwin after June 1 will save the Cowboys $3.5 million, and cutting Schultz will save $2.18 million.

I expect Blake Jarwin to return as the number one tight end in Dallas. He proved himself as an offensive threat and is under contract through 2023.

The last two years of his contract are a little expensive, carrying a cap hit of $6.25 million in 2022 and $7.25 million in 2023. That would still sit outside the top-five expensive cap hits for tight ends.

While Jarwin needs more work on his blocking, he more than fills the role offensively. Dallas can re-sign tight end Blake Bell to be the go-to blocker at tight end.

The Dallas Cowboys are in a privileged position. This season we can see Jarwin put up top-10 numbers among tight ends in a loaded offense. He is a difference-maker, and the Cowboys would be foolish to let him go.