DALLAS — Going into the 2018 NFL season, the Cowboys had a huge question mark at two positions on offense. The wide receiver position and at tight end. The team made a move to address wide receiver seven weeks into the season in an attempt to rectify the mistake of not bring in a true number one receiver.
Acquiring Amari Cooper from the Oakland Raiders for a first round pick was huge for this team down the stretch and helped Dallas record seven wins over their final eight games and clinch the NFC East division title.
However, after Jason Witten surprised everyone with a sudden retirement in April to join the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, the Cowboys didn't commit to the tight end position outside of a day three draft selection of Dalton Schultz.
So, the question is after the season, should Dallas put premium draft capital into a position that has been at the very bottom of the list since 2003? Short answer is perhaps. The Cowboys used a committee of Schultz, Blake Jarwin, Rico Gathers and Geoff Swaim this year to middling results most of the way.
Up until Swaim’s injury, there was very little production out of the position beyond Swaim's meager contributions. Swaim had eight career receptions coming into the season and after nine games that jumped to 35 career receptions. At one point, Swaim was in the top three pass catchers for this team.
Having not played but nine games this year, Swaim finished 6th on the team in receptions and 7th in yards. Losing him to a broken wrist seemed like a huge blow to the group that had been underwhelming all year for the most part.
The team had been high on Jarwin dating back to last season when they promoted him to the active roster to prevent him from being poached off the practice squad. Looking at his season up until the New Orleans’ game, many questioned why a team would be high on a player who was never a focal point.
Over the last four games, however, Jarwin has made his case for being the starting tight end. He has caught 20 passes for an average of 11.4 yards per reception over the that span. Jarwin matched a team record of three touchdown receptions in a single game with Billy Joe Dupree with his seven receptions and 119 yard performance against the Giants.
Jarwin, along with a solid effort from Schultz in recent weeks, has proven that there is at least a reason to have a conversation about whether or not to address the position in the upcoming draft with premium draft capital. Up until a few weeks ago, it seemed a near certainty that Dallas would have to do something in April. Jarwin's emergence couldn't have come at a better time.
The Cowboys are heading into a wild card matchup with the Seattle Seahawks and if they want to try and take Amari Cooper away, Dak Prescott needs to find ways to attack them over the middle of the field. Swaim was able to get 9.4 yards per catch against the Seahawks back in September and this time Seattle won’t have Earl Thomas patrolling the secondary.
Depending on his continued growth over what is hopefully a long playoff run, Blake Jarwin has definitely giving the Cowboys something to think about as they look to build their draft boards over the next few months.
Do you think the Cowboys have a new weapon in Blake Jarwin? Share your thoughts with Patrick on the tight end situation on Twitter @DraftCowboys.