Is Cowboys' Jake Ferguson already one of the best tight ends in the NFL?
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When you talk about a tough football player in the NFL, Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson should be in the conversation.
If he is not flexing after a tough first down conversion, he is taking a catch then leaping over a defender to earn extra yards or making a timely run block to help a teammate. Ferguson is just special.
The Cowboys are known to have had some great tight end talent over the last couple of decades. It seems as if there was talent at that position every decade for this franchise. In the1980s it was Billy Joe Dupree and in1990s (up until 1996), it was Jay Novacek. Both Dupree and Novacek were of course apart of Super Bowl winning teams. Although the greatest tight end period in team history was during the mid 2000s to the late 2010s. During this time, the future Hall of Famer Jason Witten was dominating on the football field. The now highly-decorated Texas high school football coach is one of Dallas's most beloved players of all time and rightfully so.
There has been a sprinkle of other quality tight ends over the years for Dallas as well. So it is safe to say that this postion is pivotal to this franchise.
Following the exit of Dalton Shultz (who was the potentially the next great Cowboys tight end), in the offseason, it was to wonder who would fill the void that Shultz was leaving behind. The 2022 rookie fourth round draft pick in Ferguson was there and he made some gritty plays last year behind Schultz, but was he really expected to be this good so quickly? Nobody could have guessed he would.
The Cowboys drafted ex-Michigan tight end Luke Schoomaker last April in the second round and many thought that they were trying to bulk up the thin tight end spot. Many were content with the decision because it seemed like a hefty need for this offense. However, with the rookie not being much of a piece in this offense, the pick is questionable, looking back at it.
But, with the year Ferguson is having, you could expect things to be how they have been this year for Schoomaker, in terms of playing time at the tight end position. Ferguson has contributed too much this season to give away playing time to other tight ends.