The Dallas Cowboys have seemingly had a great tight end for as long as I can remember. In the 90's we had Jay Novacek, in the 2000's we had future Hall of Famer Jason Witten.
Tight end has always been a priority for this team and for good reason.
Lull in greatness
The position offers a big receiving target and an extra blocker on run-downs, but once Witten retired, we had a lull of greatness in the tight end room.
We as a fanbase were spoiled having the great Jason Witten for so many years, but he retired, and we moved to Dalton Schultz. Dalton Schultz was a good all-around tight end but turned into a legitimate receiver in the last two years with the Cowboys.
In the 2022 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected a tight end named Jake Ferguson in the 4th round.
This tight end came into the league as a sure-handed run blocker to compliment Dalton Schultz on two tight end sets as a run blocker.
The fans seemed to be lukewarm on the idea of Dalton Schultz taking full reign of the tight end room and to the delight of some he moved on in free agency.
This left the position with several unknowns.
Who is Jake Ferguson?
Jake Ferguson came into the league from the University of Wisconsin where he was a run-blocking tight end. He ended his four-year career at Wisconsin with 1,795 yards and 15 touchdowns.
This is about 449 receiving yards a year and nearly 4 touchdowns. He averaged 11 yards a catch in college. Not bad numbers coming from a university that runs the ball.
His Honors and Rewards:
- 2021: First-team All-Big Ten (coaches) … second-team All-Big Ten (media)
- 2020: John Mackey Award semifinalist, All-Big Ten first team (media)
- 2019: All-Big Ten honorable mention (consensus)
In the NFL
Ferguson's first year in the NFL he played in all 16 games and saw 22 targets while catching 19. An 86% catch rate. He had 174 yards on those receptions averaging 9.2 yards a catch to go along with 2 touchdowns.
These numbers are not impressive, but he was playing behind Schultz and learning the speed of the NFL.
Year two saw a big jump in his numbers.
He saw 102 targets, catching 71 for 761 yards and 5 touchdowns. From year one to year two his catch percentage dropped, but he received 80 more targets and caught 52 more balls.
He also had 40 first downs for the Cowboys.
Not a bad year two jump as he became a safety blanket for Dak Prescott.
Compared to the current elite tight ends in the NFL
I see the elite tight ends in the NFL as being Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and George Kittle. These three have big years and are a focal point on their respective teams year in and year out.
If we use their second-year numbers, we might be able to get a glimpse of who Ferguson could become.
Kelce in year two had 67 receptions on 87 targets for 862 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Andrews in year two had 64 receptions on 98 targets for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Kittle in year two, was unbelievable by the way, had 88 receptions on 136 targets for 1,377 yards and 5 touchdowns.
All of these players are similar in height and weight and had/have good to elite quarterbacks. The numbers of three of the best tight ends in the NFL match up pretty well with Ferguson, with the outlier being Kittle.
What to expect from Jake Ferguson in the future?
The expectations may not be as high for Ferguson as the top three tight ends, but Ferguson also is not a focal point. However, if Ferguson continues to be a first-down machine and an easy target for Prescott, we could see Ferguson's numbers rise.
To get into the upper echelon of tight ends, consistency is key.
Ferguson has the build and just enough speed to be named with Kelce's of the world.
If deployed such as Travis Kelce, we could see a meteoric rise from Ferguson that will open up facets of the offense we haven't seen in years.
Ferguson has the tools to be on the field for every play in the Cowboys' offense. He can run, catch, block, and get the tough first downs.
Having a weapon such as him in the middle of the field will create better opportunities for his teammates.
I don't know if the expectations are high for Jake Ferguson, but the potential to be a superstar tight end for America's Team is present.
