5 NFL Teams and the Key Offensive Positions They Neglected in the Draft

Dallas Cowboys: Tight End

The Dallas Cowboys were no doubt taken by surprise by the news that star tight end Jason Witten would be retiring, when it was announced after Round 1. He had, after all, signed a contract extension earlier this offseason and announced on April 17th that he was hopeful of playing until he was 40. But the lure of the broadcasting booth looks to be too much for him to fight, and so the Cowboys were left in the lurch.

Even with the late notice, the Cowboys should have been preparing for life after Witten, given his age and declining efficiency. He had played 15 seasons in the NFL, but his last few were not banner ones. After averaging almost 900 yards a season from 2003 to 2014, he could only muster an average of 662 over his last three campaigns. After never dropping below the 0.60 he managed as a rookie, Witten could only manage 0.45, 0.47 and 0.48 Reception NEP per target between 2015 and 2017.

The Cowboys did draft a tight end but waited until the fourth round to do so. Then, they selected Dalton Schultz out of Stanford. The school has produced some solid NFL tight ends lately, but the likes of Zach Ertz were more productive as pass-catchers for the Cardinals than Schultz. In his three college seasons, he never topped 23 receptions for 222 yards.

Behind Schultz, the Cowboys have the trio of Rico Gathers, who has never played an NFL snap, second year player Blake Jarwin, whose next NFL reception will be his first, and Geoff Swaim with nine career receptions.