With a touchdown catch in yesterday’s win over the New York Giants, Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten pulled within just five scores of becoming Dallas’ all-time leader in receiving touchdowns. The top spot currently belongs to former WR Dez Bryant with 73 career TD receptions.
Witten already holds the franchise records for career catches and receiving yards. Passing Bryant for number-one on the TD list would give him the unofficial “Triple Crown” of receiving records.
The record for total combined touchdowns still belongs to Emmitt Smith, and likely always will, with a whopping 164 total trips to the endzone during his illustrious Cowboys career.
Jason certainly won’t catch Emmitt, and probably won’t even get halfway to him, but he has a good shot at passing Dez for the top spot among receivers. He would need just five more touchdown catches over the next 15 games.
That sort of production rate may sound easy, but it’s worth noting that Jason has only had six or more single-season touchdowns five times in his 15 year career. Even when his yardage and catches were high volume, a lot of the TD throws went to other receiving options or were obtained on the ground.
2019 may be no different. Not only does he have Blake Jarwin to worry about at his own position, but Witten will also be competing with Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Randall Cobb, and Ezekiel Elliott for those scoring touches. Dak Prescott’s running ability may also take some potential TD receptions off the table.
However, there’s another side to that coin. All of these options could open things up for Witten, who is still a crafty route runner and mismatch for many defenders. Perhaps he gets more opportunities now that other players are getting more attention.
Seeing Jason Witten return after a year away has been an awesome story on its own. Watching him add to his Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame resume only sweetens the deal!
