The Dallas Cowboys will be without starting Wide Receiver Michael Gallup, their current leader in catches and receiving yards, today against the Miami Dolphins. One player who could be a major beneficiary is Tight End Blake Jarwin, who may be in line for a big game in Week 3.
With Gallup out, Dallas will likely promote veteran WR Randall Cobb into a starting role and also find more targets for backup Devin Smith. But given the Dolphins’ lack of competitiveness right now, I don’t expect the Cowboys will be airing it out the way they have so far in 2019.
This feels much more like a game where they will build a lead and then lean on the run game, hopefully getting Ezekiel Elliott back among the NFL rushing leaders and giving rookie Tony Pollard some extra carries. That could mean more use of the tight ends as blockers, and perhaps more play-action calls out of those formations.
Not to sound cocky, but Dallas could have this one put away by halftime. Vegas certainly agrees, having the Cowboys as a three-touchdown favorite right now.
If this one lives up to those one-sided projections, veteran Jason Witten may be used sparingly to avoid wear and tear. We could see Jarwin in a more featured role than we have the first two weeks.
In last year’s regular season finale, which was meaningless for both the Cowboys and Giants, Blake Jarwin exploded with seven catches, 119 yards, and three touchdowns. The Dolphins will be putting even less effort into today’s game than New York did then.
Perhaps the biggest reason I think Jarwin could be big today is that Kellen Moore will likely stick to the early pages of his playbook. I don’t think he’s going to show off things with players like RB Tony Pollard or FB Jamize Olawale, or even make aggressive calls for deep throws to Devin Smith.
Unless the Dolphins make this shockingly competitive, I expect we’ll see a very vanilla offense from the Cowboys. I think they’re going to let Elliott go for a monster day and then exploit things in the passing game as they become available.
That’s where Jarwin can do some real damage. He’s an athletic TE who can make teams pay for bad decisions, and he can exploit mismatches against slower linebackers or smaller safeties.
I don’t generally get into projecting statistical production. I usually lean on others to tell me who to play in fantasy each week.
But something about this game tells me Blake Jarwin is going to go off. Hopefully, so do the rest of the Cowboys.
