Dallas Cowboys: 5 free agent tight ends to replace Dalton Schultz
By Reid Hanson
Free Agent TEs for the Dallas Cowboys
Hayden Hurst
Age: 28
One free agent tight end, who’s seemingly been “on the cusp” for about forever, is Hayden Hurst. Hurst was drafted by the TE-rich Ravens in 2018 but was traded to Atlanta only to see Atlanta bump him down the depth chart by drafting Kyle Pitts.
Playing second fiddle to Pitts, Hurst’s numbers understandably dropped in 2021. He finished with just 26 receptions for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns. He missed four games to injury but finished strong, which should help him a little in free agency.
And his numbers aren’t terrible considering less than 40% of Atlanta’s snaps were in 12 personnel and Pitts was clearly always in the equation. It’s worth noting, Hurst only has four career drops indicating extremely sure hands.
Hurst can play inline and comes with first round potential. His best season was back in Baltimore so he’s not on the upward career arch you typically look for, but context tells us there was a reason for his slippage and he could post big numbers is the Dallas Cowboys gave him a shot.
His value should be at or near $6M annually so this could be a decent investment opportunity for someone who sees his upside. He could pair next to Blake Jarwin or just replace both of Dallas’ top-2 TEs right away.
This isn’t a no-brainer move and carries risk/reward, but that’s what you get for the price.