Dallas Cowboys aggressively early 53-man roster prediction for 2022

Tight End (3):

Dalton Schultz
Sean McKeon
Jake Ferguson

It’s hard to find a player on this roster that went from the bottom of the roster to the top as quickly as Dalton Schultz did. A former fourth-round pick out of Stanford in 2018, Schultz had 13 receptions in his first two seasons in the NFL — and just one of those was in 2019.

Then in 2020, when Blake Jarwin tore his ACL, Schultz stepped in as the No. 1 guy and never looked back. He had 63 receptions for 615 yards that year with four touchdowns. In 2021, he proved he wasn’t a one-hit-wonder as he had 78 receptions for 808 yards with eight touchdowns.

Dallas hit him with the franchise tag after the season to keep him in town and would surely love to lock him up long-term as well.

Behind him, things are a bit thin. The Cowboys released Jarwin who was again hurt and that means Jeremy Sprinkle and Sean McKeon are fighting for the No. 2 role. Sprinkle has much more experience but given the way Jarwin and Schultz were able to develop for them, this staff might lean toward McKeon who had just four receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown in 2021.

With McKeon beating out Sprinkle, the veteran ends up not making the roster as rookie Jake Ferguson from Wisconsin earns that final spot. Of course, if they did decide to go thin at one other spot, Sprinkle could be retained but right now, they go with the better receiving options at the position over the veteran known for his blocking.