Dallas Cowboys: 5 Realistic targets in 2019 NFL free agency

3. Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders

It’s no secret that the Dallas Cowboys tight ends underperformed in 2018. That wasn’t much of a shock though as the team didn’t do a whole lot to replace Jason Witten who suddenly retired just before the 2018 NFL Draft.

As Witten left for the ESPN booth, Dallas decided to trot out Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin, rookie Dalton Schultz and Rico Gathers. While they all did fine with the blocking aspect of their job — especially Swaim and Schultz — their leading receiver was Jarwin with 307 yards off 27 receptions. And his numbers were inflated by a huge Week 17 game in which he had 119 yards on seven receptions, while also scoring his only three touchdowns of the season.

Looking forward to the offseason, Swaim is a free agent and may not be back considering the upside of Schultz and Jarwin. However, neither of those players is a legitimate No. 1 tight end at this point so Dallas could try and land a veteran on a one, or two-year deal to bridge the gap.

This is where Jared Cook comes in. At 31 years of age, Cook is coming off his best season in which he had 68 receptions for 896 yards and six touchdowns. He did this while with the Oakland Raiders, a team that struggled offensively and couldn’t find a way to get Amari Cooper going.

Should he land in Dallas, he wouldn’t get as many targets, which means the numbers would go down, but Cook would be an upgrade to what they already have. And all Cowboys fans know how much better an offense can be when there’s receiving threat at the position.