The Dallas Cowboys have one of the NFL’s best offenses, and that’s been the case for several seasons now. Whenever Dak Prescott is under center, the offense tends to rank among the very top units in the NFL. And a big reason why is that the front office has done a great job of surrounding Prescott with playmakers.
One of those playmakers is Jake Ferguson, who had a down season by his standards in 2025. He had a career-high eight touchdowns, but all of the advanced stats say he was among the least effective tight ends in the league. Ferguson has now seen his yards per reception and yards after the catch in three consecutive seasons, and it’s fair to wonder if he’s already peaked.
It appears that defenses have found ways to slow him down, and one rival scout revealed exactly how their team tried to stop Ferguson whenever they played Dallas.
Jake Ferguson has a massive fumbling problem, and opponents know it
In a recent article by Jeremey Fowler of ESPN, he asked several NFL decision-makers, including coaches, scouts, and general managers, to rank their top 10 tight ends in the league going into the 2026 season.
Ferguson did not make the top ten, but he did get votes from several scouts. However, one NFC scout revealed a shocking truth about Ferguson and how they tried to stop him whenever they faced the former Wisconsin star:
"He's really solid all around, high catch volume, tough, competes in the run game. His problem is fumbling. We targeted trying to get the ball loose when we played him."
Ferguson has fumbled the ball seven times over the last two seasons, which is the most among all tight ends in the league during that time. Ferguson has always tried to be a player who gains that extra yard after contact, and it’s resulted in some massive mistakes.
It’s also worth noting that Ferguson has had 10 penalties accepted against him since 2024, which is also among the most by any tight end during that span. There is no doubt that Ferguson is a good player, but 10 penalties and seven fumbles over the last two seasons, on top of him being just an average blocker, are a lot to overcome.
If Ferguson can’t stop putting the ball on the ground, it might be time for Dallas to consider phasing him out of the offense. The same can be said about his penalty issue and his lack of explosiveness after the catch. Needless to say, this is a huge year for Ferguson to prove to the doubters that he can still be an effective tight end and a weapon for Prescott.
Keep an eye on Ferguson throughout training camp, as he is one of the most important players to watch in practice. If he can regain some of his explosiveness after the catch, the Cowboys could go to another level on offense. But if he continues to decline athletically for the fourth season in a row, it might be time to consider someone else as Prescott’s top tight end.
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