I don’t want anyone to think the Cowboys signed Mitch Van Vooren because they think they suddenly found some hidden gem sitting around in late August.
They needed a tight end with Michael Trigg, and D.J. Rogers being injured. Both rookies missed the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. I don’t know if anyone noticed, but that left the Cowboys with only Luke Schoonmaker and Zack Kuntz at tight end.
We’ve already lost Princeton Fant for the year after tearing his ACL and parietally tearing his MCL earlier in camp.
This is a room that looked crowded a few weeks ago, but got thin in a hurry. So Dallas went looking for another body before the preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints. Well, they landed on Mitch Van Vooren.
Mitch Van Vooren Took a Strange Road to the NFL
Van Vooren is almost 6’5” and around 255 pounds. Size is one thing, but how he got to the NFL is another.
This guy didn’t start his college career playing football, but instead he went to Marquette to run track and left as one of the best hurdlers in school history.
Mitch Van Vooren ran the 400-meter hurdles in 51.38 seconds. This time set the Marquette school record and qualified him for the NCAA Division I West Regional. Then he decided to try football again.
So he transferred to Division III St. Norbert and started over.
While at St. Norbert, Mitch Van Vooren caught 32 passes for 535 yards and three touchdowns in 2023. The next year he had 33 receptions for 510 yards and 10 touchdowns. Only 22 college football games and 65 catches for 1,045 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Now he’s going to see the field for Dallas after being in the offense for about a week. I can say that is not a normal path to the Cowboys.
The Athlete Is Obvious, The Football Is Not
I don’t think this guy is some kind of sleeper the Cowboys signed. Mitch Van Vooren is about as raw as it gets as a 25-year-old NFL tight end.
His route tree is almost non-existent. A lot of what he did at St. Norbert was because he was a better athlete than everyone else on the field. NFL safeties and linebackers are a different breed.
But I can’t ignore the athlete. Van Vooren has lined up in-line, in the slot, outside, and even in the backfield. He has also worked on special teams, which will work out well for him because any chance, however slim, goes through special teams.
Now he will need to prove he is more than a big, fast guy learning to play tight end.
The Injuries Will Force Dallas to See What Mitch Van Vooren Is
This is going to be the most uphill battle Mitch Van Vooren has probably seen. He is walking into Dallas with no knowledge of the offense. He doesn’t have a month to study. He has days.
That probably won’t bode well for him.
If Michael Trigg and D.J. Rogers are still limited, Mitch Van Vooren may have to play a decent amount against the Saints whether he’s ready or not.
Who knows that may be the best thing for him and Dallas. Give him some snaps, let him run up field, see if his size and athleticism show up against NFL talent.
Van Vooren is in Dallas because they ran out of bodies to use in the preseason and I think that’s all this is right now.
But it looks like Van Vooren has been a long shot his entire football career. Maybe he comes out and gets enough snaps to show the Cowboys something. Maybe he doesn’t. Either way there might be something the Cowboys see and keep him around on the practice squad.
If nothing else, Mitch Van Vooren is getting a great opportunity to showcase his skills and hopefully that works out for him down the road.
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