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Cowboys' red zone improvement may lie with TE Dalton Schultz

The Dallas Cowboys have the need for more options in the red zone which makes for an area where tight end Dalton Schultz can step up in 2022.

DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys were the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL last season with 530 points scored.

Even though no one did it better than Dallas, there was a perception that the Cowboys could have been more efficient. Perhaps this can be explained by the Cowboys' 63.1% red zone efficiency. Although that mark was sixth-best in the NFL, it was still interesting that the best team in scoring couldn't crack the top 10 in total red zone conversions.

The Cowboys were tied with the Arizona Cardinals for the seventh-most red zone trips with 65. Had the Cowboys added a few more touchdowns, it could have helped their win total improve from 12-5 to a loftier number and improve their chances to obtain the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.

Dallas' defense was stupendous with 34 takeaways and six touchdowns scored by their side of the ball. Special teams even added two blocked punts returned for touchdowns. However, the Cowboys can't count on that type of fortune in gathering takeaways or scoring free possessions. The offense will have to improve upon its conversion rate and cash in on red zone opportunities.

If the Cowboys are to get better inside the 20-yard line, tight end Dalton Schultz will have to elevate his game.

According to Bryant Horn from Pro Football Focus, Schultz had a 63.6 grade inside the red zone, the 16th-best in the NFL last season. Although the New Orleans Saints' Adam Trautman was a spot ahead of Schultz, the former 2018 fourth-rounder from Stanford wasn't that far away from household names such as the Los Angeles Rams' Tyler Higbee (No. 14, 65.6) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Rob Gronkowski (No. 13, 66.7)

Schultz is in the neighborhood of talented tight ends on high-powered offenses, or targets who comprise the other half of a dynamic passing duo. With the Cowboys applying the franchise tag on Schultz, and failing to reach a more cap-friendly contract extension by Friday’s deadline, the 26-year-old assuredly will be paid like one of the top tight ends in the game. If Schutlz could back up his play with more scoring plays, it would help Dallas retain their grip on the NFC East.

The trend for Schultz's career suggests he will rise to the occasion in his fifth season. In 2020, when Blake Jarwin, the intended starting tight end for the Cowboys' offense, went down with a torn ACL in Week 1, Schultz responded with 63 catches for 615 yards and four touchdowns — largely in games without Dak Prescott, who was lost for the season in Week 5 with a broken leg. When Schultz had close to a full season with Prescott last year — 16 of 17 games — he caught 78 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.

The cohesion between Prescott and Schultz is a dynamic that the two worked on throughout the doldrums between offseason workouts and training camp. It wasn't just the cohesion between passer and target as it was Schultz's integration with Prescott's other weapons in receivers CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, running back Ezekiel Elliott, and fellow tight end Sean McKeon.

Six of Schultz's touchdowns came inside the red zone. If Schultz can improve his effectiveness inside the 20-yard line, it should help the Cowboys do more than just repeat as division champions for the first time since 1996; it could be the key for the Cowboys to grab the No. 1 seed and make a deep playoff run.

Do you think Dalton Schultz will lead the Cowboys in TD catches in 2022? Share your predictions with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.

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