Since stepping into the starting role in 2023, tight end Jake Ferguson has cemented himself as a key component of the Dallas Cowboys’ offense. His quick emergence allowed the team to transition away from Dalton Schultz to Ferguson at a much lower price. The young tight end quickly earned the trust of Dak Prescott, establishing himself as a reliable safety valve and a vibrant source of energy for the offense.
Through his first four years in the league, he put together two Pro Bowl seasons as he found
ways to find soft spots in coverage and make the most of every reception with impressive toughness and the occasional hurdle of defenders. Having a seam-stretching tight end who commanded attention helped make a dynamic Cowboys offense even more dynamic. Fans loved him.
Last July, Ferguson signed a four-year, $52 million extension with the team, putting him under team control through the 2029 season. While his athleticism and locker room energy made him a guy the team wanted to hold on to, a pattern of costly mistakes is starting to raise questions about his overall consistency and long-term effectiveness.
In past seasons, the veteran tight end has shown good hands, making contested catches look effortless, but recently his focus has wavered at critical moments. Through five games this year, he has a drop rate of 9.5%, which is a high percentage for a player targeted on short-to-intermediate routes. Obviously, the most devastating example came on Thursday night when the ball was thrown right at his grill. Not only did he not secure the catch, but the ball deflected off his face and stayed in the air forever until a Buccaneers defender could safely get under it. A potential comeback drive turned into a costly game-ending mistake.
Even more alarming than the periodic drop is Ferguson’s ongoing battle with ball security after the catch. Over the last three years, he’s put the ball on the turf a staggering eight times, leading all tight ends in that span. That’s a rate of once every 19.6 times he touches the ball. For perspective, that is like a running back who touches the ball 20 times a game who fumbles once every game. That’s atrocious.
His fumbling woes have caused opposing defensive coordinators to openly admit to going after him. Ferguson has a bad habit of carrying the ball away from his frame, making him vulnerable to aggressive defenders who deliberately swipe at the ball. And it’s worked. He had a costly fumble on a shovel pass against the Baltimore Ravens a couple of weeks ago that erased a promising scoring drive. We can argue until we are blue in the face about whether that should’ve been ruled incomplete, but either way, Ferguson isn’t doing a good job securing the ball.
These things are harmful to the team, but some might be willing to give him a little leniency if he were a strong blocker. He’s not. His chip blocks are ineffective, and he routinely misses his blocking assignments in the running game. There are more and more instances of Ferguson being tossed aside as a blocker. It’s not good.
The Cowboys invested a second-round pick in Luke Schoonmaker in 2023, but he has not worked out as planned. The team reupped on Ferguson, but now, suddenly, he has created a bit of concern as well. The front office also wisely extended Brevyn Spann-Ford, who is the team’s gritty blocker and special teams contributor, but one can’t help wondering if we could see a change in responsibilities as the season moves forward. If Ferguson can’t clean up some of his problems and start being more of a net positive than a liability, the Cowboys might have some tough decisions ahead.
