All eyes will be on the defense for the Dallas Cowboys during training camp and that is warranted. After having the worst defense in franchise history, the Cowboys have made some significant investments on that side of the ball, including hiring Christian Parker to run the defense.
There aren’t many questions on the other side of the ball, outside of the development of Tyler Guyton. The Cowboys return all 11 starters, including several key backups, such as Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, T.J. Bass, and Nate Thomas. But one player who needs to answer some big questions during camp is Jake Ferguson.
After earning a big contract extension during training camp last season, Ferguson had arguably the worst year of his career. His yards per reception dropped down to 7.3 and he was one of the NFL’s worst tight ends after the catch (3.7 yards after catch per reception).
Dallas Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson badly needs a bounce-back season
While he did catch a career-high 82 passes, he was one of the lowest-graded tight ends in the league by Pro Football Focus. And now, the rest of the league is starting to notice that he could be the weak link on offense for Dallas.
In a recent article by Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus, they ranked the top 32 tight ends in the NFL going into the 2026 season. Ferguson came in at No. 24 (!) on the list, behind players like Oronde Gadsen, Isaiah Likely, and Colby Parkinson. That's brutal. Here is a snippet of what they had to say about Ferguson going into the upcoming season:
“Ferguson has been a very productive pass-catcher for the Cowboys across the past few seasons. His 41 broken tackles since 2023 are second to only Trey McBride, while his 1,060 yards after the catch are fifth among all tight ends in the league. However, Ferguson has posted sub-60.0 PFF grades in back-to-back seasons, mainly due to his league-leading four fumbles.”
Player rankings are always subjective, but it's pretty damning that the seventh-highest-paid tight end in the sport in terms of annual average value ($12.5 million) checked in at No. 24 in PFF's eyes. The NFL world clearly has low expectations for the veteran tight end.
By no means is Ferguson a bad player. He still has the trust of the quarterback and more often than not, he is in the right place at the right time. However, there are questions about his waning athleticism and inconsistencies as a pass catcher. The good news is that Ferguson appears to be slimmer going into camp and he knows that he is in a make-or-break year for his career.
Ferguson doesn’t have to be the focal point of the passing attack, and due to the emergence of George Pickens (and hopefully Ryan Flournoy), he can return to being a high-end complementary player.
Keep a close eye on Ferguson throughout camp, as he could completely change the offense if he is able to return to his 2023 form. If not, we could be looking at a situation where someone like Brevyn Spann-Ford or Luke Schoonmaker gets more snaps in 2026.
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