Cowboys have battles at both top and bottom of the tight end depth chart

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4 days ago

The Dallas Cowboys are taking seven tight ends with them to training camp this weekend. They are a unique group, battling for space on the 53-man roster as each brings something different that the team can use on the field. There are big-bodied blocking options, run-after-catch guys, stretch-the-field threats; there's even someone who plays a lot of fullback.
And while those at T=the bottom of this chart will battle to make the 53-man roster, the top spots aren't exactly settled either.
Jake Ferguson didn't have the third-season leap many expected. Whether due to injuries, demands of the offense, or Dak Prescott's midseason departure, Ferguson had a down year in 2024. His success rate plummeted 15 percentage points, his yards-per-touch fell more than two yards, he fumbled four times, the firsts of his career, and he didn't score a single touchdown.
If the offensive coaches are being honest about what they want the offense to be since their hiring, then Brevyn Spann-Ford has to be in play for the top tight end role.
The coaches have spoken about wanting to control the line of scrimmage, and Spann-Ford is nearly 6-foot-8 and 280 pounds. He is an undersized offensive tackle who can move well enough to be a chain mover in the passing game. He played 305 offensive snaps last year and only received 14 targets, but Prescott is good when working with tight ends. Blake Jarwin played well with him before injuries, and Prescott has had great seasons with Jason Witten, Schultz, and Ferguson. Spann-Ford could be the next breakout tight end in the Prescott era.
Luke Schoonmaker won't be the top guy in the room, but he will battle for the second-most snaps at the position. He had an underrated sophomore campaign, more than tripling his receptions and yards from his rookie year despite only having 43 more snaps on offense. He improved his success rate by over 15% and his catch percentage went up by over 20%. Schoonmaker aims to replicate Schultz's third-year breakout.
Princeton Fant, John Stephens Jr., Rivaldo Fairweather, and Tyler Neville could all be battling for a final spot on the 53-man roster, and each will get a fair shot at it. Fant leads the way because he has experience being both a tight end and a backup fullback, plus he played in 64% of the special teams snaps last year.
Stephens Jr. would've made the team in 2024 as a stretch weapon at the position before his season ended for the second-straight year with an ACL injury. He might now be outside looking in at Fant, or one of the two undrafted free agents (UDFA) the Cowboys have more contract control over going forward.
Fairweather would look to do the same job of stretch tight end as Stephens Jr. He averaged over 15 yards per reception in his first three seasons at Florida International and scored six touchdowns in his first season after transferring to Auburn. Neville has a great story as a cancer survivor who became a team leader at Virginia. He is more like a large receiver than a tight end at the NFL level, but he would make the team with his abilities on special teams and his locker room presence.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys have battles at both top, bottom of the tight end depth chart