Dallas Cowboys 7 Round Mock Draft: No Trades/No surprises/Just chalk

Dallas Cowboys Round 3, Pick 75

Hunter Long, TE

Boston College

Hunter Long is the Patrick Surtain of the tight end class, but I’ll get to that. Typically, college tight ends are more about projection than production. As such there’s a lot of speculation and not much proof in their scouting reports. Long was the opposite of that.

Long was one of the most productive tight ends in the country leading the country in receptions (57) and receiving yards (685). The knock on him was whether he had the athleticism and measurables to push his ceiling high enough. Much like Surtain at CB.

But also like Surtain, Hunter Long put those questions to bed when he lit up his Pro Day. This tells us his skills translate to the next level and he’s not just technically sound with a high floor, but athletic enough to have that high ceiling. His well-rounded skill set make him an ideal TE1 to build around and someone who’s a four-down asset.

The Dallas Cowboys have two solid tight ends now. They have Blake Jarwin locked up for the next few years and Dalton Schultz for one more season. There’s mystery surrounding Jarwin’s ceiling since he has yet to play in the lead role and has never exceeded 39% of the offensive snaps in a single season. But his production in the limited opportunities he’s had indicates he’s about to break out in a very big way.

But even if Jarwin does break out into that Pro Bowl pass-catcher like I think he will, there’s still room for a well-rounded TE like Long. Long has clear inline TE ability (unlike Jarwin) and fills different roles alongside him.