The Cowboys said goodbye to Jason Witten in the offseason, again. Two years ago, they tried to replace him with a committee. This year it will be Blake Jarwin, taking a leading role in what was one of the top passing offenses a year ago. Can Jarwin be a breakout player?
There's a story at the team website about him, getting ready to be their guy. He's got a brand-new contract, and not much in the way of competition.
Last year, Jarwin was quietly a playmaker in the Dallas offense. More than a quarter of his catches went for at least 20 yards. Among all tight ends (20-plus receptions), only New Orleans' Jared Cook had more big plays.
| TIGHT END 20-YARD RECEPTIONS, 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | 20+ | Pct |
| Jared Cook, NO | 43 | 705 | 16.4 | 9 | 15 | 34.9% |
| Blake Jarwin, DAL | 31 | 365 | 11.8 | 3 | 8 | 25.8% |
| Mark Andrews, BAL | 64 | 852 | 13.3 | 10 | 16 | 25.0% |
| Noah Fant, DEN | 40 | 562 | 14.0 | 3 | 10 | 25.0% |
| Dawson Knox, BUF | 28 | 388 | 13.9 | 2 | 7 | 25.0% |
| O.J. Howard, TB | 34 | 459 | 13.5 | 1 | 8 | 23.5% |
| Jonnu Smith, TEN | 35 | 439 | 12.5 | 3 | 8 | 22.9% |
| George Kittle, SF | 85 | 1053 | 12.4 | 5 | 16 | 18.8% |
| T.J. Hockenson, DET | 32 | 367 | 11.5 | 2 | 6 | 18.8% |
| Jimmy Graham, GB | 38 | 447 | 11.8 | 3 | 7 | 18.4% |
| Gerald Everett, LAR | 37 | 408 | 11.0 | 2 | 6 | 16.2% |
| Josh Hill, NO | 25 | 226 | 9.0 | 3 | 4 | 16.0% |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 3 | 11 | 15.9% |
| Darren Waller, OAK | 90 | 1145 | 12.7 | 3 | 14 | 15.6% |
| Hunter Henry, LAC | 55 | 652 | 11.9 | 5 | 8 | 14.5% |
| Irv Smith, MIN | 36 | 311 | 8.6 | 2 | 5 | 13.9% |
| Dallas Goedert, PHI | 58 | 607 | 10.5 | 5 | 8 | 13.8% |
| Mike Gesicki, MIA | 51 | 570 | 11.2 | 5 | 7 | 13.7% |
| Zach Ertz, PHI | 88 | 916 | 10.4 | 6 | 12 | 13.6% |
| Travis Kelce, KC | 97 | 1229 | 12.7 | 5 | 13 | 13.4% |
| Hayden Hurst, BAL | 30 | 349 | 11.6 | 2 | 4 | 13.3% |
| Will Dissly, SEA | 23 | 262 | 11.4 | 4 | 3 | 13.0% |
| Nick Boyle, BAL | 31 | 321 | 10.4 | 2 | 4 | 12.9% |
| Eric Ebron, IND | 31 | 375 | 12.1 | 3 | 4 | 12.9% |
| Ryan Griffin, NYJ | 34 | 320 | 9.4 | 5 | 4 | 11.8% |
| Greg Olsen, CAR | 52 | 597 | 11.5 | 2 | 6 | 11.5% |
| Jordan Akins, HOU | 36 | 418 | 11.6 | 2 | 4 | 11.1% |
| Austin Hooper, ATL | 75 | 787 | 10.5 | 6 | 8 | 10.7% |
| Kaden Smith, NYG | 31 | 268 | 8.6 | 3 | 3 | 9.7% |
| Tyler Eifert, CIN | 43 | 436 | 10.1 | 3 | 4 | 9.3% |
| Jack Doyle, IND | 43 | 448 | 10.4 | 4 | 4 | 9.3% |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 44 | 467 | 10.6 | 3 | 4 | 9.1% |
| Kyle Rudolph, MIN | 39 | 367 | 9.4 | 6 | 3 | 7.7% |
| Jeremy Sprinkle, WAS | 26 | 241 | 9.3 | 1 | 2 | 7.7% |
| C.J. Uzomah, CIN | 27 | 242 | 9.0 | 2 | 2 | 7.4% |
| Jacob Hollister, SEA | 41 | 349 | 8.5 | 3 | 3 | 7.3% |
| Darren Fells, HOU | 34 | 341 | 10.0 | 7 | 2 | 5.9% |
| Vance McDonald, PIT | 38 | 273 | 7.2 | 3 | 2 | 5.3% |
| Foster Moreau, OAK | 21 | 174 | 8.3 | 5 | 1 | 4.8% |
| Delanie Walker, TEN | 21 | 215 | 10.2 | 2 | 1 | 4.8% |
| Jason Witten, DAL | 63 | 529 | 8.4 | 4 | 2 | 3.2% |
| Cameron Brate, TB | 36 | 311 | 8.6 | 4 | 1 | 2.8% |
This is not to say Jarwin will be an elite performer, or that making big plays is better than the guys who caught 80-plus passes. Jarwin has to show he can handle a featured role in the offense, and he'll be competing with three talented wideouts and a running back.
But in that small sample set of work, Jarwin produced. He's an athletic guy, and no one should be surprised if he steps up with a strong season, after being largely blocked by the sloth-like Witten (at the bottom of this list) last season.
--Andy Richardson