Cowboys’ defense faces serious obstacles with tight ends this season

The calendar in July keeps ticking days away as we draw closer to real, live NFL football. Everyone should have July 25th circled on those calendars as the first day of Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California. Fans are chomping at the bit.

Can you imagine the players? They long for the days when they can put their pads on to use their physical talents and give their brains a break from the offseason installation of new schemes.

If you’ve been following my work over the past few days, you know that I am in the middle of a series ranking the top players/units for opposing teams on the Cowboys’ 2024 schedule.

We started off with quarterbacks, led by Lamar Jackson, followed by running backs, headed up by Christian McCaffrey, and finishing up the latest installment with the Houston Texans leading the way at wide receiver.

Today, we shift our focus to the tight ends.

Going through the 2024 Cowboys schedule to rank them, I was surprised to see just how many talented tight ends the Cowboys will face this season.

There was enough talent there to make the top three difficult enough to rank, but it was more difficult to decide who would be left off of the list altogether. The Cowboys will face a serious challenge and the safeties better be up to the task.

Rankings are in a “worst to best” scenario. All stats are provided by Pro Football Reference.

3. Detroit Lions — Sam LaPorta

If you want to see one of the reasons the Detroit Lions experienced a meteoric rise to almost win the entire NFC, look no further than their 2023 rookie class.

Dan Campbell’s bunch got key contributions from their first three picks. TE Sam LaPorta was one of those three picks, and he might have been the most important addition to the Lions’ offense.

He served as a safety valve for QB Jared Goff, catching 86 passes on a whopping 120 targets for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.

La Porta established himself as one of the top young tight ends in the league.

He doesn’t just get open and secure the catch when the ball arrives. His run-after-catch skills are among the best in the league, as well.

The Cowboys don’t face the Chiefs this season, but LaPorta can be viewed as a developing version of Travis Kelce. His rookie season was so strong that the Cowboys better be prepared when he comes to town in week 6.

2. Baltimore Ravens — Mark Andrews

This is now the third time out of four articles in this series that the Baltimore Ravens have made the top three. They also made this list with QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry.

Mark Andrews graces this list despite his injury issues in 2023.

An ankle injury limited Andrews to just 10 game appearances and nine starts. His 45 receptions were the lowest total of his career since his rookie season (34).

Lamar Jackson loves to find Andrews open over the middle of the field matched up with linebackers or safeties outmatched by Andrews’ size. He stands at 6’5″ tall, towering over most defenders and out-positioning them with his 250-pound frame.

Mark Andrews should be healthy heading into the 2024 season and will have fresh legs for the week 3 matchup versus the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

1. San Francisco 49ers — George Kittle

It was a tough decision on where to rank my top-three tight ends but at the end of the day, George Kittle comes out on top as the total package.

It also helps that Kittle has destroyed the Cowboys.

In their previous two matchups, Kittle has accumulated eight receptions for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Although he hasn’t dominated by any stretch, George Kittle has killed the Cowboys with big plays in timely situations.

In last season’s week 5 matchup, he only caught three passes but all told, went for 67 yards and three touchdowns in the 42-10 rout.

Kittle lands at the top of this list because of his added ability as a run-blocker in Kyle Shanahan’s scheme. He can chip defensive ends, move to the second level to take on linebackers, and then move to the secondary for downfield blocking.

He is one of the main reasons RB Christian McCaffrey has been able to take his game to another level since arriving in San Francisco from Carolina. Kittle will be amped up for the Cowboys to come to the Bay Area in week 8.

Honorable Mention

Atlanta Falcons — Kyle Pitts

Houston Texans — Dalton Schultz

Philadelphia Eagles — Dallas Goedert

Cleveland Browns — David Njoku