When the 2024 NFL draft was meandering through its final set of picks, the Cowboys’ honchos looked at their board of remaining players and were left with raised eyebrows. There was one player still there whom the Cowboys had ranked as a probable fifth-round prospect—Minnesota tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. Even before the final picks wrapped up, even before he’d officially gone undrafted, the Cowboys began making calls to get Spann-Ford to sign as a free agent.
It was not easy. Other teams had taken notice of Spann-Ford’s free agency and were trying to get him to sign, too. So the Cowboys made an unusual move—despite already having a relatively full tight-end room, Dallas guaranteed Spann-Ford $245,000 on an UDFA contract, an unusually high amount for a player uncertain of making the roster.
But, given the team’s weakness on the offensive line, the Cowboys could see that Spann-Ford has the potential to be a particularly useful weapon as a blocker. He’s 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds, and ranked among the best non-lineman blockers in college football last year.
Because of that, the analysis site Cowboys Wire noted, Spann-Ford has a chance to be one of the many UDFA success stories that have come out of The Star in recent years.
Cowboys Have Long History of Producing UDFA Stars
It is quite a list, as Cowboys Wire pointed out. Tony Romo is the biggest name, but the Cowboys’ UDFA prowess has also produced the likes of Cole Beasley, Miles Austin and Markquese Bell. Now, the site writers, Spann-Ford has a chance to join that group.
“Standing at an impressive 6-foot-7 and weighing 260 pounds, Spann-Ford brings a big-bodied presence to the team’s tight end room. The Cowboys were so keen on securing his services that they outbid other teams, offering him a $20,000 signing bonus and a substantial guarantee of $225,000. This investment reflects high expectations that he will make the 53-man roster,” CW noted.
That will take some doing. The Cowboys are likely to keep four tight ends on hand, and the first two spots are firmly in place—starter Jake Ferguson showed enough as a rookie to prompt the Cowboys to let Dalton Schultz walk in free agency, and Ferguson outplayed Schultz last year. The Cowboys also used a second-rounder on Luke Schoonmaker in 2023, so he is sticking around.
Spann-Ford would have to beat out all but one of Jon Stephens, Noah Fant and Peyton Hendershot to earn a spot on the roster.
Brevyn Spann-Ford Had a Massive 2023 Drop Rate
It’s possible he could do that, as long as the Cowboys keep the focus on how good Spann-Ford is as a blocker. Because while he is an obviously excellent pass-blocker, he is equally bad as a pass catcher, struggling with dropped balls during his final season with the Gophers.
That is unfortunate, because Spann-Ford did not have much trouble with dropped balls before last year. He had no drops, according to Pro Football Focus, and 23 catches in his first NCAA season. In Year 2, he had 42 catches and three drops. But last year, he dropped a whopping nine passes on 46 targets—26.5% drop rate is the highest by a player in all the years PFF has measured those stats.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote of Spann-Ford: “The jewel of the post-draft signings was a player at seemingly a position of strength for Cowboys in Minnesota tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. The Cowboys won a bidding war for the services of the 6-foot-7, 270-pound cyborg, giving him a $20,000 signing bonus and $225,000 guaranteed.”
