To say the clock is ticking for Dallas Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker to make something of himself is an understatement.
Entering his third year as a second-round pick, Schoonmaker hasn't lived up to his draft position, and now time is beginning to run out to show that he deserves to stick around.
Part of that has been his injuries. Luke did not participate in all of Dallas' offseason workouts in his first two years, which has put him behind the eight ball.
For his coach, Lunda Wells, Schoonmaker's biggest goal as he enters this offseason is to simply get on the field and out of the treatment room.
"Schoony did a nice job stepping in and carrying the torch when Jake [Ferguson] went down the second time,” Wells said. “Again, for Schoony, the biggest emphasis for him going forward this offseason is to get on the grass. This will be the first time, hopefully, that he's on the grass during OTAs, and I think that'll be excellent for him to continue to progress. I did think as the season went on he started playing the type of ball that we want to play and that's consistency, the physicality, and being an asset for us in the passing game.”
Schoonamaker did show flashes last season when Ferguson went down, having a run for three games that saw him total 55, 56, and 33 receiving yards and a touchdown from a combined 14 receptions.
But once Ferguson returned, Schoonmaker's production dropped and in his last five games, he only totaled 41 yards from five receptions.
Now, as he enters Year 3, Schoonmaker must make some noise in the Cowboys' offense, and "getting on the grass" in OTAs is a good start.
