Could Gavin Escobar Be The Next Julius Thomas?

[Galian Beast]

I doubt it. Thomas was the #1 TE and had over 900 snaps.

Escobar isn't taking snaps from Witten so he's not going to be on the field nearly as much as Thomas was.

Even if Escobar got every snap at the #2 TE spot and Hanna had none, Escobar still has about 400 snaps to go.

The Broncos used 1 tight end, we're going to be using 2. I think the attempt to compare the two directly was originally ill conceived.

The broncos had 4 guys with great production, we have 5 guys with that capacity, and how we use that 5th guy is really what can help us reach that level. How the coaches use Beasley or Escobar in certain situations will really dictate how well this offense functions.

 

[TrailBlazer]

I like the comparison. Both struggle with blocking. If Escobar didnt have witten in front of him, I could see him putting up good numbers.

 

[Galian Beast]

We're going to have to go out there in games and come out swinging, something the Cowboys have generally never been good at doing.

The Broncos had about 100 more passing attempts than we did..., but if you look at their opponents, their opponents were forced to throw as well. The reason why the Broncos won was because teams weren't as effective passing the ball as they were. There was about a 30 QB rating difference between them and their opposing teams.

We've got to come out swinging, and we've got to get first downs. We have to be an offensive machine that is nearly impossible to stop.

We had 293 first downs. They had 400...

That's the difference between us and them.

Who can help us on 3rd down? A better offensive line, Cole Beasley, Gavin Escobar.... Hopefully an improved Terrance Williams.

 

[Galian Beast]

The Broncos also had about 700 yards after the catch more than we did...

 

[KJJ]

Escobar could be another Anthony Fasano or Marty B as long as Jason Witten is the Cowboys #1 TE and Romo's security blanket. There's no similarities between Escobar's situation in Dallas and Thomas's situation in Denver. Thomas is the Bronco's #1 TE and he's playing with the most prolific QB in NFL history. Denver didn't have an elite firmly entrenched #1 TE who was putting up big numbers when Thomas was drafted in 2011 and they didn't have Peyton Manning as their QB. None of Denver's receivers were productive until Manning came along in 2012. Thomas was injured in 2012 costing him his opportunity that season. The Cowboys are having trouble fitting Escobar into the passing game which is the same problem they had with their previous TE's who had to play behind and alongside Witten. If Beasley continues to make plays in the slot it's going to limit Escobar's opportunities.

As of right now Escobar still hasn't separated himself from James Hanna who caught more passes than Escobar last season and has so far been more productive than him this preseason after 2 games. I'm not saying Escobar can't play but with Witten as the #1 TE and Beasley seeing a lot of action in the slot it's going to continue limiting Escobar's opportunities. The Cowboys are talking about running the ball more this season and when they do throw they want to get the ball in Dez's hands which doesn't bode well for a role playing TE who's already playing second fiddle to Witten.

I mentioned several weeks ago that Jimmy Graham only produced 5 catches for 31 yards as a rookie playing behind Jeremy Shockey. Once Shockey was released after that season giving Graham an opportunity to be the teams #1 TE it resulted in 99 receptions for over 1300 yards and 11 TD's. I'm certainly not saying Escobar could be another Jimmy Graham but until a player gets a starting opportunity you never know what you might have. The Cowboys had no idea what they had in Miles Austin until they were forced to start him in week 5 of the 09 season giving him his opportunity. With the role Escobar has he'll have a difficult time living up to his draft status.

 

[Craig]

Escobar isnt going to be a red zone target with witten around, but if you take those plays away, he could be a lot like thomas. 2 or 3 big yardage games and a lot of invisible the rest of the season from a possession standpoint.

 

[gmoney112]

I think it's a well thought out argument. I believe Escobar is going to be a good player, I think him being the "spark" that takes this offense to elite is a little unrealistic at this point. I also didn't think Julius Thomas was the reason for the Bronco's improvement, in this instance I think correlation isn't causation, and the reason for their improvement wasn't a "huge improvement" from Julius but Peyton's second year in the system and familiarity with it and personnel. Julius had good stats and was reliable, but Peyton makes it pretty easy for you.

I like a lot of our players on offense and our OL is straight alpha, so I expect us to be better across the board but it's not going to be from the sole development of Gavin.

 

[theSHOW]

it's a lot of 1st downs. Going to have to be clicking on all cylinders

 

[KJJ]

Escobar isnt going to be a red zone target with witten around, but if you take those plays away, he could be a lot like thomas. 2 or 3 big yardage games and a lot of invisible the rest of the season from a possession standpoint.

It's not Witten that will keep Escobar from being targeted in the red zone it will be Dez.

 

[Craig]

It's not Witten that will keep Escobar from being targeted in the red zone it will be Dez.

No, dez is keeping witten from being targetted in the red zone. Witten is keeping escobar from being on the field when dez gets doubled.

 

[KJJ]

No, dez is keeping witten from being targetted in the red zone. Witten is keeping escobar from being on the field when dez gets doubled.

You're wrong Witten never scored more than 7 TD's before Dez arrived. Witten had 94 catches for 1030 yards in 2009 and scored only 2 TD's. He's been great between the 20's but not much of a red zone/end zone threat.

 

[KJJ]

Witten is keeping escobar from being on the field when dez gets doubled.

It's Beasley who's keeping Escobar off the field they both play the slot. The Cowboys are having to decide between the two. Escobar is a big lumbering target and Beasley is a small jitterbug who can get open quick. The Cowboys would prefer Escobar to stand out for obvious reasons they gave up a 2nd round pick for him but Beasley's progress has created a dilemma for them. Based on both players 2013 production it doesn't look that good for Escobar we'll just have to see how things play out this season. Escobar's size would make him a great red zone threat but Dez is going to get most of the opportunities down there.