Cowboys' Jake Ferguson confirms suspicion following strong preseason opener
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson might be forcing the front office to second-guess itself at this point. It's always difficult to know what to make out of a preseason game, but the second-year player who went undrafted last year did good work against the Jacksonville Jaguars' first and second-team defense on Saturday night. His […]
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson might be forcing the front office to second-guess itself at this point. It's always difficult to know what to make out of a preseason game, but the second-year player who went undrafted last year did good work against the Jacksonville Jaguars' first and second-team defense on Saturday night.
His first catch of the day came in the very first drive wasn't much as he picked up three yards on first down on the quick throw. His second catch was more flashy, however, as it went for a first down on 3rd & 7. Lined up from a flex position (unattached to the line of scrimmage), Ferguson ran a quick slant inside. He found the soft spot in the defense, stabbed the football, and fought for the extra yardage as he went to the ground. Productive play, sure, but nothing to go too crazy about.
It was his third and final catch of the night that would make the highlight reel and make us think: "Yup, this kid is TE1."
Out of a 3×1 formation, Ferguson lined up flexed from the offensive line again and ran a vertical route over the seam. Matched up with a linebacker, the Cowboys tight end gained separation with speed before jumping in the air to high-point the football while twisting to make the back-shoulder catch.
Although not known as a refined blocker, Ferguson also showed a willingness to get his hands dirty in the run game, too. That's more important than it would appear as it's all coaches need to be able to develop a player's blocking abilities down the road.
Jake Ferguson has clearly won the battle at TE
All in all, while Ferguson didn't show us anything new, he did confirm our suspicion from training camp: He's firmly penciled in as the starter at tight end despite the Cowboys using a second-round draft pick on Luke Schoonmaker. He's looked good in Oxnard, California, and now has a game to show for it as well.
At some point, we've got to admit that if the Cowboys reached for a second-round tight end because of need, they might come to regret it. We'll give Schoonmaker the benefit of the doubt though as he appears to be the superior athlete on paper and might have a surprise or two to make a push to start down the road.
I wouldn't bet on that happening anytime soon, though, as he dealt with a foot injury in Phase III of the offseason and early in camp, which probably means his chances of beating Ferguson for the starting role took a big hit due to his unavailability in the first place.
With Dalton Schultz leaving in free agency to sign with the Houston Texans, the Cowboys are expecting big things out of their young tight ends. It all starts with Ferguson, who was productive in limited playing time as a rookie and showed his knack for consistently finding yards after the catch.
In 2022, he had 19 catches for 174 yards with two touchdowns with a snap count of just 40%, per Pro Football Reference. His workload will be significantly increased in Year 2.
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Featured image via Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
