Dallas Cowboys: What Rico Gathers needs to break out

Here’s an easy way to involve tight end Rico Gathers in the Dallas Cowboys’ attack – practice scripted plays.

When the Dallas Cowboys drafted tight end Rico Gathers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, they did so dreaming he could one day become a viable weapon. This boom-bust pick out of Baylor was as green as they come – not having played organized football since junior high school.

But if the Dallas Cowboys could only get him to develop, he could be a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses and eventually be an unstoppable red zone weapon for the Cowboys offense.

Can’t common ground be found where Rico isn’t required to understand the intricacies of the position? Perhaps playing a handful of snaps off a simplified script is the solution.

Throughout his time in Dallas, it’s been well documented he’s struggled with blocking assignments. But Rico’s also struggled reading coverage and making the appropriate route adjustments. The only thing he seemed to handle were those 50/50 balls and the jump-ball situations. So it was a pretty big surprise when Gathers made the Cowboys final 53-man roster since he was a liability in nearly every phases of the game.

Yet here he is. On the active roster and searching for opportunities to prove his worth. unfortunately the same issues that held him back in camp are the same issues that are holding him back now. He doesn’t know the plays. The Dallas Cowboys are struggling enough on offense, they don’t need the added task of spelling it out to him every time they break huddle.

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But on a team that’s struggling to move the ball through the air, isn’t Rico exactly what this offense needs? Can’t common ground be found where Rico isn’t required to understand the intricacies of the position. Perhaps playing a handful of snaps off a simplified script is the solution.

Jason Garrett is a good planner. You can say he struggled with adjustments, sure. But when he’s going off a game plan and he’s not asked to deviate, he’s an decent coach. So why doesn’t he script out key plays that Rico Gathers can prepare for and practice the week leading up to the game? He’ll have it planned and Scott Linehan will make the call when to use it.

The redzone is a great starting point. If Rico can just focus on one or two red zone routes that will not be impacted greatly by the coverage, he can be a valuable weapon. This way Dak Prescott knows where he’ll be, and where he can place the ball. If the defense runs the optimal coverage to take Gathers away – it’s up to Dak to notice and ignore that option altogether.