The forgotten man among the NFL’s best supporting cast, Dallas Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin is now, too, in the “Pro Bowl conversation.”
Beat reporter David Helman of the Cowboys’ official website believes Jarwin may find himself at Allegiant Stadium — site of the 2022 all-star festivities — in February.
“Honestly, [TE Dalton] Schultz probably should have been in the conversation last year, though that’s partially because the tight end position had a bit of a down year in the NFC in 2020,” Helman wrote Monday. “I’ve been very high on Jarwin for a few years now. I think he’s got great hands, and is a bit more of a downfield threat than Schultz. If he’s healthy for all 16 games, I could see him finishing with 700-800 yards and 5-8 touchdowns. That should be more than enough to put him in the Pro Bowl conversation – especially if the Cowboys are winning games.”
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Skepticism Abound
It’s difficult to envision Jarwin cracking his first-career Pro Bowl this coming season. For one, he missed the majority of the 2020 campaign after tearing his ACL in the opener, allowing backup Dalton Schultz to shine in his stead with 63 receptions for 615 yards and four touchdowns across 973 offensive snaps.
For two, Jarwin faces NFC competition from the likes of San Francisco’s George Kittle, Detroit’s T.J. Hockensen, and the Giants’ Evan Engram — all of whom are focal parts of their respective offenses.
Jarwin is … not. And being buried beneath Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb on the pass-catching totem pole renders the 26-year-old (as well as Schultz) a “long shot,” according to in-house team reporter Jonny Auping.
“On one hand, Dak Prescott has so many weapons. There are only so many touchdowns that can be scored so if that scoring offense is relatively balanced, I don’t see either tight end having eye-popping stats,” Auping wrote. “And the question you referenced is correct; there are a lot of really good tight ends in the NFL and the NFC specifically. I think if you ranked Jarwin or Schultz on that list you’d run out of Pro Bowl spots before you got to either of their names.”
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Grim Outlook on Jaylon Smith’s Future
Whereas Jarwin is slated to ascend, on the other side of the ball, linebacker Jaylon Smith is predicted to descend — and perhaps, eventually, deplane out of Dallas.
With first-round rookie Micah Parsons entrenched at middle linebacker and walk-year veteran Leighton Vander Esch likely penciled in at weakside linebacker, ESPN’s Todd Archer believes Smith will be moved to the strongside where his role would be significantly diminished under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
“The SAM linebacker plays 20 snaps a game,” Archer noted last week during an interview on 105.3 The Fan. “Paying $7 million to a guy for 20 snaps a game doesn’t seem to be the best financial use. But you start hearing Jerry [Jones] talk about the pressure that Jaylon can get, that Parsons can get, and the different things they can do.
“One thing Jaylon Smith is not: he’s not an edge rusher. He’s a decent blitzer up the middle; he’s not an edge guy because he doesn’t have that bend that you want. Maybe Parsons is that guy. How they mix in these three guys is going to be a fascinating experiment going forward.”
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