The Dallas Cowboys and fans are ecstatic after a 33-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns to start off the season on the right foot. Unfortunately, they didn’t leave Ohio completely unscathed.
Star TE Jake Ferguson got his knee rolled up on during the game, which forced him to go to the locker room in obvious pain. It was feared on the sideline that there would be extensive damage to his knee. Ferguson would later say that he felt a pop, and feared the worst.
Luckily, further testing revealed a Grade 1 MCL sprain with a slight bone bruise. Ferguson is day to day in practice this week, and has a real chance to suit up versus the New Orleans Saints this Sunday. However, with the Baltimore Ravens coming to Arlington in week 3, it may be a wise choice to let the knee rest one week.
Should Ferguson not suit up on Sunday, there is not a one for one replacement behind him on the roster that can solely fill his shoes. It will be a collective effort at tight end, and each player in the tight end room brings something different to the table.
Ferguson is a budding star at the tight end position, and his production can’t be matched by any one player behind him on the depth chart. The Cowboys will use a tight end by committee approach if Jake Ferguson misses time.
Luke Schoonmaker
Let’s start with the obvious choice here: 2nd round pick, Luke Schoonmaker. The Michigan product had an underwhelming rookie season that didn’t match his draft stock. Many expected Schoonmaker to step in and make the Cowboys’ offense more difficult to defend in two-tight end sets.
Instead, he ceded the majority of the snaps to Peyton Hendershot. Hendershot is in Kansas City now, and Schoonmaker has no choice but to step up into a more active and productive role until Ferguson returns at 100%.
For the Cowboys offense to function at peak performance in Ferguson’s absence, the first player that needs to up his game is Schoonmaker. This is the first opportunity for the world to see what Schoonmaker can do in an expanded role, and we will see how he handles the pressure.
John Stephens Jr.
As big of an opportunity that Ferguson’s injury presents for Schoonmaker, it’s an even bigger opportunity for John Stephens Jr. Another second year player, Stephens is unfortunately dealing with an injury of his own that forced him to miss the win in Cleveland.
Stephens has been dealing with a strained hamstring and has been working off to the side with Cowboys’ Director of Rehabilitation, Britt Brown. Brown is considered the best in the business, and has gotten players back to the field from soft tissue injuries sooner than expected on many occasions.
Signed as an undrafted free agent, Stephens possesses athletic traits that no other tight end on the roster possesses aside from Jake Ferguson. Standing over 6’5″ tall with a bulked up wide receiver’s frame, he displays traits at the tight end position that the Cowboys haven’t seen since the failed Martellus Bennett experiment.
Having Stephens on the field can be a boon to the passing offense, and he can be another weapon in QB Dak Prescott’s arsenal.
Hunter Luepke
It might come as a surprise to see Hunter Luepke, the Cowboys’ starting fullback, as one of the top options to replace Ferguson, but the coaching staff was one step ahead of all of us.
Perhaps realizing the lack of proven talent behind Ferguson, Luepke got some work at tight end leading up to the game in Cleveland, and reports say he didn’t look half bad. The former North Dakota State Bison has similar traits to San Francisco FB Kyle Juszczyk, who is a do-it-all type player for 49ers’ HC Kyle Shanahan.
Luepke can lead block out of the backfield, line up as an inline tight end, or even flex out as a wide receiver. He is currently the Cowboys’ third leading wide receiver after catching two passes for 18 yards against the Browns.
There is no doubt that Luepke will resume his role as lead blocker for whoever lines up with him in the backfield, but it will be interesting to see how his role expands to help cover what the offense is losing without Ferguson.
Brevyn Spann-Ford
The third tight end on the roster for the Saints game will likely be rookie undrafted free agent Brevyn Spann-Ford. Spann-Ford did not receive a target in the game in Cleveland, but he did play more snaps than Schoonmaker.
Maybe the flow of the game called for more run-blocking snaps, and we shouldn’t read into it more than it is, but it’s still a surprising stat to see Spann-Ford play more snaps than the player who is most likely to step into the top role in Ferguson’s absence.
Standing at 6’7″ tall, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher can be a matchup problem, but his receiving skills need to be refined before he can come close to Ferguson’s production.