There are obvious players on the Dallas Cowboys who are locked into starting roles. With Brian Schottenheimer now at the helm, there is ample room for roster and depth chart shuffling.
Sure enough, that has already manifested itself now that OTAs and minicamp are in the rearview mirror. The cornerback battle has made for some pleasant surprises, but the tight end position might have a new pecking order by the time training camp has concluded.
The Cowboys won't depart for Oxnard for another month, but the buzz surrounding tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford is off the charts following offseason workouts.
Cowboys TE Brevyn Spann-Ford might be headed for a featured role in 2025
Trade acquisitions George Pickens and Kaiir Elam were the biggest winners from OTAs and minicamp, but Spann-Ford isn't far behind. In fact, Brian Schottenheimer said the second-year tight end has "had an incredible offseason" and is already "pushing" Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker.
"... I think he added six or seven pounds of lean muscle mass," Schottenheimer said. "This guy is not just a run blocker and a pass protector. This guy can be a weapon because of his size in the middle of the field, matched up on linebackers and safeties. The thing I loved about Brev from day one is you knew that this wasn't too big for him. You knew mentally that he knew, 'I belong here. It doesn't matter how I got here, I belong here ... He's already made the jump ..."
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That could be misconstrued as typical coachspeak, but Schottenheimer has made it abundantly clear that players will have to earn their playing time. It sure sounds like Spann-Ford is well on his way to carving out a role for himself in the offense.
Say what you will about OTAs and minicamp, but the 2024 undrafted free agent has seen significant burn with the first-team offense. Per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Span-Ford drew two targets during team drills on Wednesday, including catching a two-point conversion.
Second-year jumps are prevalent across the NFL. So are sophomore slumps, but Spann-Ford only played 121 receiving snaps despite appearing in all 17 regular-season games as a rookie, per PFF. He drew just 14 targets, catching nine of them for 88 yards.
Spann-Ford had huge blocking upside coming out of Minnesota, but draft analysts questioned his pass-catching ability. He struggled badly with drops and contested catches.
Training camp will tell the full story, but it seems the 25-year-old has made a big leap in that department. If that holds true in Oxnard, we could be talking about Spann-Ford as the Cowboys' TE2 this season instead of 2023 second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker.