Tagging Dalton Schultz small price to pay for Prescott’s security blanket
The Cowboys did what needed to be done with this move. By that, I mean they took inventory of their roster and their means of keeping it at the highest level possible. While free agent DE Randy Gregory could have been another candidate for the tag, tagging Schultz was the right play to make for a few reasons.
Schultz has been one of the most dependable players on the roster, even acting as Dak Prescott’s most dependable weapon or security blanket. He did this all as a guy who started as a backup this season.
When you look at Dallas’s receiving crops from this past year, Schultz came in second in receptions behind CeeDee Lamb. He finished just one catch behind the dynamic wideout, Lamb’s 79 to Schultz’s 78. In according fashion, though, with a few caveats, Schultz would also finish second to Lamb in targets. Additionally, Schultz 16 targets behind Lamb and tied Cooper in targets at 104. He also finished with 10 more receptions than Cooper.
Additionally, Dalton Schultz joins Jason Witten as the only tight ends in team history to top 800 receiving yards in a season.
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) January 9, 2022
The tight end would also finish fifth on the team in catch percentage, but first among the massively targeted. To put it into perspective, the guys ahead of him only had 57 total targets for 49 total receptions. The next closest heavily targeted Cowboy, say, 75 or more targets—was Lamb.
The young WR caught 65.8 percent of the passes thrown his way, while Schultz snagged 75 percent. Keep in mind that Schultz had slightly less overall opportunity than Lamb to begin with it. He just the most of his performances. The story on why Schultz had to come back goes deeper than his stats, though.