Dallas Cowboys: Surprise impact players on offense

Don’t be surprised if the Dallas Cowboys offense picks up where it left off from last season. Despite the losses of Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson, the Cowboys still have enough offensive firepower in the cupboard to put points on the scoreboard.

It’s not just because the Cowboys have a promising group of wide receivers/tight end in CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, James Washington, Noah Brown, and Dalton Schultz. It’s because of the additional offensive pieces the Cowboys drafted in the past two years.

These players didn’t come with the All-American hype and popularity like their fellow first round classmates. Instead, these hidden gems fell through the cracks, but their potential is undeniable and impacts the Cowboys offense to the maximum.

The Dallas Cowboys have found the players to keep the offense humming.

Ferguson being a complement to Schultz allows Dallas’ offense to use more of the two-tight end formation for the running game, extend drives, and gives Dak Prescott another red zone scoring threat

Rookie tight end Jake Ferguson had an outstanding rookie camp, and when you combine the high expectations of fellow rookie wideout Jalen Tolbert and second-year receiver Simi Fehoko, Dallas potentially could have three breakout players on their offense. And when I say breakout, I mean Ferguson has the ability to be a day one starter at tight end, along with Tolbert in the slot.

But let’s talk about Ferguson’s performance in the rookie camp because he’s truly the surprise out of trio of pass catchers. Site expert Reid Hanson wrote about how Ferguson turned heads at camp with his pass-catching ability and physicality. He loves to “stick his face in the ceiling fan”.

My Gawd!

The reality is if Ferguson becomes another offensive weapon that has the ability to block as well, Dallas’ offense has instantly become lethal because of Ferguson’s capability of being a day one starter.

The mismatches alone would create nightmares for opposing defenses because who’s going to account for Ferguson, Schultz, Lamb, Washington, Gallup or whatever combination of players that are on the field.

Ferguson being a complement to Schultz allows Dallas’ offense to use more of the two-tight end formation for the running game, extend drives, and gives Dak Prescott another red zone scoring threat.

At 6’5 and weighing a solid 250 pounds, Ferguson definitely has the advantage over the smaller defensive backs. And he loves contact. Good luck Darius Slay of the Philadelphia Eagles trying to stop him from scoring in the red zone.

Tolbert and Fehoko are expected to fill in and cover the void left by Wilson. By all accounts, Tolbert is penciled in to replace Wilson’s production and all of the necessary tools to succeed and then some. Tolbert has the speed, stands 6’1 and weights 195, an excellent route runner, goes up and gets the ball, and has hands so good he can catch the air underneath the ball (back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, had a 143 receiving yards against Tennessee in 2021).

Tolbert doesn’t have to be the carbon copy of Wilson, just duplicate the production when the opportunity presents itself because he’s a totally different receiver than Wilson in that he has a higher ceiling to become a WR1 in the future. Tolbert is going to be a headache when facing man coverage. The same can be said for…

Fehoko because all the former fifth-round pick has done is spend the off season with Dak and learning how to be better receiver. He spent his entire rookie season soaking up knowledge from the veteran receivers and is receiving praise from Dallas’ coaching staff. A big receiver at 6’3 and weighing 220 pounds, Fehoko has the opportunity to supplant Noah Brown and become a legitimate scoring threat.

With great hands, speed, a decent route runner, I can see a scenario where he dresses out every game and sees some action. There’s a reason why Dallas only drafted one wide out and only signed another (Washington) in free agency. Fehoko is impressing the coaching staff.

In conclusion

All three of these players bring a different skill set to the offense and it only matches and complements the starters. The fact that Ferguson alone can be a day one starter at tight end speaks volumes about his talent level. If Ferguson continues on this path, it will be similar to what Lamb did in his rookie season when he gave Dallas a great trio of receivers.

Ferguson’s impact will be huge and, in some ways, replace Coop’s because of his ability to score and cause mismatches. The beauty of Tolbert and Fehoko is not only do they give you depth, but they’re actually better than their position titles (WR3/WR4). In other words, they’re projected to be better than wide outs that play the same positions.

Those two will not get as many targets as Lamb and Schultz, for example, but their role is simple: extend drives and make the plays when their number is called. That simple.

And because of the difference of roles, they all play, the Dallas Cowboys offense will be beyond impactful.