Is This 2022 Fourth Round Pick in Line for a Breakout Season?
The Cowboys have had plenty of good tight-end play throughout the team’s history. Players that come to mind are Jay Novacek, Jason Witten, and more recently, Dalton Schultz. The Cowboys found a steal in the 2022 NFL Draft in Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson. After a few solid seasons early in his career, all eyes are on his production in what many expect to be a breakout season.
One reason we may not see a massive leap from Jake Ferguson in year four is that there may be too many mouths to feed in an offense that is already expected to become a run-heavy team in 2025. There will be far fewer 50 pass-attempt games from Dak Prescott this season, and when he does drop back to pass, there is a real chance that CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens will take on a large portion of the targets. This could lead to Jake Ferguson being a safety blanket and a third read in progressions, which could result in a dip in production. On the other hand, there is an argument to be made that Ferguson could carve out a role as the primary red zone target in such a power run-heavy offense, but the Wisconsin product has only tallied seven touchdowns throughout his career and did not score in 2024.
Ferguson is big and powerful after the catch and is one of the more complete tight ends due to his capabilities as a blocker. He may be slightly limited as an athlete, but he is good at gaining leverage against linebackers and finding the soft spots in coverages. He finished 2024 with 51 receptions and nearly 500 yards in 2025, which was near the bottom of the league for starting tight ends, although he only played in 14 games. He also will not have a lot of competition in the tight end room, with Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford unlikely to take snaps from him. However, there is potential for more multi-tight end sets in 2025 due to the offensive scheme from Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams. The Cowboys will also likely have a role for Hunter Luepke, who can do a variety of different things at different positions—another factor that could limit a highly productive season from Ferguson.
