NFL Nation reporter Todd Archer breaks down the Dallas Cowboys, position by position, analyzing what the players did in 2016, what they can do in the future and what the team can do to improve the position in 2017.
TIGHT END
Under contract: Jason Witten, James Hanna, Geoff Swaim, Rico Gathers, Connor Hamlett
Free agents: Gavin Escobar
A look back: Witten caught 69 passes for 673 yards and three touchdowns, marking the 13th straight season he has caught at least 60 passes. Only Tony Gonzalez has more 60-catch seasons as a tight end in NFL history. And Witten had just one game in which he did not record a reception.
Witten also set team records for most consecutive games started (163) and most games started (213) and is on pace to pass Ed “Too Tall” Jones for most games played in franchise history in September. Witten has played in 223 straight games, one behind Jones.
Many focus on Witten’s yards per catch (9.8 yards) and surmise he no longer can work the seams, but the coaches say he is running as well as he has in years. He has trademarked the option route, which does not allow for a long yards-per-catch average or a lot of yards after the catch.
He continues to be a reliable blocker and is asked to block defensive ends without help more than most tight ends.
Swaim won the No. 2 tight end job after Hanna’s season was ruined by a knee injury before it could really get started. Swaim caught six passes for 69 yards and he was an effective blocker in the Cowboys’ two-tight end sets they favor in establishing Ezekiel Elliott’s run game. Swaim suffered a torn pectoral tendon on Nov. 13 at Pittsburgh that required season-ending surgery and the Cowboys turned to guard Joe Looney as an extra tight end.
Escobar, the Cowboys’ second-round pick in 2013, made a terrific recovery from a torn Achilles’ at the end of the 2015 season but he finished with just four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. The coaches never trusted his blocking to give him a larger role, even after Swaim was hurt. He played on more than 20 offensive snaps just once, and that came in the season finale, when Witten was pulled after three series.
Hanna was re-signed as a free agent after developing into a solid No. 2 tight end behind Witten. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp because of a knee injury that eventually required surgery.
A look ahead: Witten will be entering the 15th year of his career and the final year of his contract. He needs 17 yards to surpass Michael Irvin for most receiving yards in team history.
Witten remains the leader and conscience of this team. What he says goes. Without Witten, there would be a huge void on and off the field. Perhaps at some point the Cowboys will consider limiting his snaps (he played 1,018 of 1,060 snaps in 2016) but he is simply too valuable.
The return to health of Swaim and Hanna will help. Swaim was showing he could be an all-around tight end, playing with his hand on the ground as well as serving as the "move" tight end. Hanna is expected to be at full strength for the offseason and can also serve in similar roles as Swaim. With both players, there has to be concern with re-injury.
Gathers spent the season on the practice squad after being selected in the sixth round after playing basketball at Baylor. He was never ready to play in 2016. The only position that is asked more of than a tight end in the Cowboys’ offense is quarterback. Gathers has the athletic ability, but he needs to better understand the game to earn a real chance at significant playing time.
A look out: In 2006, 2008 and 2013, the Cowboys used second-round picks on Anthony Fasano, Martellus Bennett and Escobar to pair with Witten, not necessarily replace him. For the first time in his career, Witten was asked if he will be back when the Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. While he will return, the Cowboys must prepare for a future without Witten.
That doesn’t mean adding a free agent tight end. It means looking to the draft. Alabama’s O.J. Howard could be an option late in the first round. Michigan’s Jake Butt suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the Orange Bowl that could affect his draft status, and that could put the Cowboys in a position to select him in the same manner they did Jaylon Smith in 2016.
The key for the Cowboys, however, is finding a complete tight end. With the way spread offenses are run in college football, tight ends are not asked to block much. That’s just not the case with the Cowboys. They went through four years of trying to get Escobar to be a blocker and never found a role for him. That’s not solely his fault. That’s on the staff, too.
