Dallas Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers is starting to talk about what he can do on the field, and the team needs him to back that up in 2018.
Heading into the 2017 NFL Season there was a lot of hype surrounding second-year tight end Rico Gathers. The sixth-round pick out of Baylor was selected by the Dallas Cowboys despite not playing football collegiately. Instead, Gathers was a member of the Baylor basketball team.
Dallas hoped he could use his height, athleticism and jumping ability to win contested passes. During his second preseason, that’s exactly what he was doing. In two games he had seven receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns, but then a concussion ended his entire season.
Now fans are hearing the hype again, and despite never catching a regular season pass, Gathers believes he will be the next big tight end in the NFL. Taking to his Instagram account, Gathers had the following quote:
"Facts is facts. It’s only the beginning. Truth is I’m Ready for more. Been ready for more. The dilemma of me not being ready is over. I got a piece of it last year and it felt so good doing it, y’all will never understand that feeling. It was like the most epic scene of movie before the power goes out in ya house for a few hours and you forget all about what you was watching. I watched those two games the other day and I told myself “Ima be the next best tight end in this league” and I believe that with all my heart. lol y’all continue to hate while I continue to shine I love y’all, y’all make me better. God Knows my heart and that’s all that counts to me."
It’s a bold claim, and really one the Cowboys need to come to fruition. Last year their offense struggled to move the ball and quarterback Dak Prescott wasn’t finding any consistent rhythm with his stable of pass catchers, but has shown a preference for slot receivers and tight ends in his two seasons with Dallas.
For example the current starting tight end for Dallas, Jason Witten, has 132 receptions the past two seasons with eight touchdowns. The problem is he averaged just 9.8 yards per catch in 2016 and 8.9 in 2017. Dallas could surely use a younger player with quicker legs to boost that position.
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Gathers has the skill to do that. However, skill alone isn’t enough to succeed in the NFL. If he wants to be the next big star at his position, he needs to put in the work as well to back up his claims. And Dallas absolutely needs him to do just that.