Dallas Cowboys rookie minicamp: 3 rookies who must show out
By Reid Hanson
Luke Schoonmaker’s pass catching ability
When the Dallas Cowboys selected Luke Schoonmaker with the 58th pick, they drew some fairly harsh criticism around the draft world. Schoonmaker wasn’t generally seen as a top TE in the 2023 class and plenty of impressive options remained on the board.
The Cowboys were said to have reached on the Michigan TE and consensus draft boards agree. But Dallas saw something other scouting departments did not. They saw untapped pass-catching skills.
The Dallas Cowboys believed Schoonmaker wasn’t given the right opportunities to succeed in college and if put in the right situation, he could be a dynamic down field receiver in the NFL.
Rookie minicamp is the perfect chance for him to show it.
Schoonmaker should be able to show right from the start whether he has those pass-catching traits the Cowboys spoke of or if he’s a project player who will start his career task-specific.
Most TE value is derived from pass-caching so if Schoonmaker isn’t anything more than the run-blocker most scouts pegged him for, he’ll represent a huge miss from the Dallas Cowboys scouting department.
But if he shows he knows how to use his speed and athleticism in the passing game, Dallas scouts will look brilliant for seeing something many others did not. Rookie minicamp is an easy opportunity to shine so we should know quite quickly whether this draft pick has a chance.