News: Did this deal set the bar for Schultz?

[KJJ]

Schultz will play on the franchise tag this season and his performance will determine whether the team wants to re-sign him. If he continues to improve and has a big season he’ll get paid.

 

[fivetwos]

First, you keep looking for difference makers if you don't have one. Second, what do you consider a decent starting tight end?

In 2020, for example, there were 11 tight ends drafted. Cole Kmet in the early second round had 28 receptions for 287 yards and 2 TDs his first year and 60 for 612 and 0 TDs his second. David Asiasi, taken in the third round, has had 2 catches for 39 yards in two seasons. Josiah Deguara, also taken in the third round, has had 21 catches for 257 yards and 2 TDs in two years. Dalton Keene (third) has had two catches for 16 yards. Adam Trautman (third) has had 42 receptions for 434 yards and 3 TDs. Harrison Bryant (fourth) has 45-471-6. Albert Okwuengbunam (fourth round) has 44-451-3. Colby Parkinson (fourth) has 7-49. Brycen Hopkins (fourth) has 1-9. Charlie Woerner (sixth) has 8-88. Tyler Davis (sixth) has 4-35. Stephen Sullivan (seventh) has nothing.

If Schultz is the baseline for a decent starting TE, his 78-808-8 last year is better than any of these TEs except Kmet has had in their first two years combined. Now, maybe I should have picked an earlier year because Schultz didn't have much to show after his first year. But even allowing some leeway for that, you'd have to say five out of 11 are looking right now like they might become decent starting TEs. That's a 45.5 percent hit rate.

Not worth spending that kind of cap money on a guy that isn't all that tough to replace.

Figuring to go find another Kittle or Kelce easily? Not likely.

Schultz isn't at that level.

The disconnect between you and I here is that you think that catching a check down pass is some sort of unique skill, and I do not.

Schultz has improved his game since he got here and is an above average TE. Elite? No.

 

[Typhus]

https://www.nfl.com/news/browns-te-david-njoku-agree-to-four-year-56-million-contract-extension

David Njoku 4 years for $56.75 million ($28 million guaranteed)

Last year Njoku caught 36 passes for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Meanwhile Schultz caught 78 passes for 808 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Schultz could command 60 million and 32 million guaranteed for 4 years.

I'm betting no extension will happen and this will be Schultz's final year in Dallas.

Not the best TE in the league and certainly not the worst, about what you pay your starter when you have no other options on franchise tag.
Its a set price.

 

[gimmesix]

Sarcasm indeed, I always get amusement as we talk about player busts in later rounds or immediately think they can replace another starter with mid to late round picks. If everyone thought they were that good they would have went much earlier.

I understand the optimism, but yeah, it's unrealistic to expect it. There's a better chance of Ferguson being a career backup or even bust than there is of him ever becoming a starter. Not to mention the other draft picks.

 

[CowboyRoy]

He blocks...really? But seemingly he is not a good receiver. Blocking TEs are dime a dozen. Just make McGovern to a blocking TE if you don't care about pass catching abilities

Who says he can’t catch?

 

[conner01]

I think it will depend on how Schultz and Ferguson do. If Ferguson looks like he can replace Schultz, then we likely let Schultz leave in FA and need to draft another TE. If Schultz does better as a blocker than he did and continues to be solid as a receiver, and Ferguson looks like a backup, then we probably pay Schultz and go with them next year. If Schultz blocks as poorly as he did last year or regresses as a receiver, then we address the position no matter how Ferguson does, although how Ferguson plays will determine how early we address the position.

We could add a third TE anyway, but if Schultz plays better and Ferguson looks like at least a No. 2 TE, it will be far down the list of players we need.

I don’t think we pay Schultz but we will see
I think Ferguson will be a solid player though TE is a bit of a slow development position. It took Schultz time
Time will tell is Ferguson is good and what we do with Schultz I think they feel confident they can develop a guy and not have to use a high pick on a guy so even if we go after a guy next year it won’t be a high pick. In this offense and most others, the position is very important. He’s the guy you look to when the called receiver isn’t open. He’s the easiest target and he’s gonna get plenty of targets
What ever they do I think tagging Schultz was the right move and for this offense to work you need a solid player there

 

[gimmesix]

Not worth spending that kind of cap money on a guy that isn't all that tough to replace.

Figuring to go find another Kittle or Kelce easily? Not likely.

Schultz isn't at that level.

The disconnect between you and I here is that you think that catching a check down pass is some sort of unique skill, and I do not.

Schultz has improved his game since he got here and is an above average TE. Elite? No.

Not really the point. The point is you said that it is easy to find a decent starting tight end like Schultz. Reality says different, which is why decent starting TEs like him get paid. I'm not propping Schultz up (I'm fine with replacing him), just saying you have less than a 50 percent chance in any draft of finding an above-average TE.

Frankly, I think we did the right thing this year by franchising him and drafting a TE. We can see if we struck gold or even bronze with Ferguson before deciding if we have to pay Schultz next year.

Also, nowhere did I say finding another Kittle or Kelce was easy, just that you keep looking until you get one. We went a long time between Novacek (whom we didn't even draft) and Witten. We've drafted 11 TEs since we took Witten and decent is the best we've done in those 19 years.

 

[Cowfan75]

No freaking way

Lol...because we aren't that dumb?

 

[jterrell]

This why I'm glad they tagged Schultz and drafted Ferguson.

This.
Dallas looked at the options and talked to Schultz agent and made the rather obvious call to kick the can a year and try to find a replacement in the draft.
TE market had gotten incredibly hot all of a sudden and they didn't want to play in that if they didn't have to.
Dalton will be motivated to go get his money so will likely lay it all on the line this year to produce.
Dallas will see what is has in Ferguson and has another draft next year to help fill the TE void.

Dallas FO has A LOT of questionable moves but this Schultz tag was very good business imo.

 

[Robster8989]

The TE market has moved a good TE that can catch and block is at least 15M on low end and top ones are around $20M....and it's about to get much higher

Get used to a whole bunch of new numbers when cap goes up by about 20-25%

I agree 100%.
I think a lot of fans live in the cap world of last year (or the last few years).
So Henty at 3/36 sounds high.
Agents live in the cap world of tomorrow.
The cap is going to explode in the coming years. NFL ratings and revenue are driving this, and will continue to do so.
Projections are we may see as much as a 40 mil increase next year, and a cap perhaps as high at 308 by 2026 (just 4 years from now, the length of many contracts).
In the first year of new deals, teams can keep a cap number quite low (for example, when DLaw signed his 5 year, 105 mil deal ((21 APY)), he counted just 11 in his first year).
Teams can also restructure deals every year, paying out a signing bonus to replace a guaranteed salary to keep the cap hit lower.
They will eventually pay a price but good front offices can manage that.
Few NFL contracts will run their entire term.
For example, I think not jumping on Wagner was a mistake. Many fans say he got 5/50, which for a player his age is nuts.
But he won't see 5/50. His deal is just 10 mil in guaranteed money. The Rams can cut him next year and save 7.5 mil in cap space, taking just a 4.5 mil hit to their cap. He was signed for 5 years to spread out the hit they will take when they do release him, but he will help their defense big time this season. He counts just 2.5 mil against their cap this year. That's a bargain. And if he plays well and they want him back, they can restructure his deal next season to lower his cap hit again.
I understand tagging Shultz, make him proove last year was no fluke, but the downside is that if he does have another really good year, his price goes up as the cap rises. It's like Daks deal, we could have signed him years earlier than we did, I heard numbers like 24-28 mil per at that time. But we waited and the price went up to 40. If Shultz has another good year, 4/60 is well within his range, possibly more.

 

[gimmesix]

I don’t think we pay Schultz but we will see
I think Ferguson will be a solid player though TE is a bit of a slow development position. It took Schultz time
Time will tell is Ferguson is good and what we do with Schultz I think they feel confident they can develop a guy and not have to use a high pick on a guy so even if we go after a guy next year it won’t be a high pick. In this offense and most others, the position is very important. He’s the guy you look to when the called receiver isn’t open. He’s the easiest target and he’s gonna get plenty of targets
What ever they do I think tagging Schultz was the right move and for this offense to work you need a solid player there

I think if we don't pay Schultz and Ferguson only looks like a backup, then we'll have to take a TE early to better our chances that we hit on one. We would also pick up a cheap vet option just in case.

Let me add that it's not all on Ferguson, though. We'll also be watching the improvement of McKeon in his third year and I'm intrigued by the UDFA Peyton Hendershot. He led Indiana in receptions last year with 46 for 543 yards and 4 TDs, and finished as the school's TE leader in receptions (136) and yards (1,479). His numbers last year match up well with Ferguson's (46-450-3) with Ferguson having slightly better career numbers (145-1,618). Doesn't mean anything, of course, as both could be worthless on this level.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Who says he can’t catch?

You mean Njoku? His best year was 56 catches. He is injury prone.

 

[gimmesix]

Not really the point. The point is you said that it is easy to find a decent starting tight end like Schultz. Reality says different, which is why decent starting TEs like him get paid. I'm not propping Schultz up (I'm fine with replacing him), just saying you have less than a 50 percent chance in any draft of finding an above-average TE.

Frankly, I think we did the right thing this year by franchising him and drafting a TE. We can see if we struck gold or even bronze with Ferguson before deciding if we have to pay Schultz next year.

Also, nowhere did I say finding another Kittle or Kelce was easy, just that you keep looking until you get one. We went a long time between Novacek (whom we didn't even draft) and Witten. We've drafted 11 TEs since we took Witten and decent is the best we've done in those 19 years.

Actually, let me correct one thing: There's a less than 50 percent chance of finding an average starting tight end in any given draft. The chances of finding an above-average one is lower than that.

 

[America's Cowboy]

This 2022 offseason, Dalton Schultz signed a 1 year, $10,931,000 contract (franchise tag) with the Dallas Cowboys, including $10,931,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $10,931,000. In 2022, Schultz will earn a base salary of $10,931,000, while carrying a cap hit of $10,931,000 and a dead cap value of $10,931,000.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/dalton-schultz-25238/#:~:text=Current Contract,dead cap value of $10,931,000.

Looking at the Tweet up above and noticing how the Browns just gave the less producing TE David Njoku a new 4 year contract extension worth $56.75 million ($14+ million/year), I don't see how the Cowboys will be able to retain Dalton Schultz after this season.

Should the Cowboys give Dalton Schultz a $14+ million/year new contract extension, or should they let him go after this 2022 season?

If the Cowboys let Schultz leave after this upcoming 2022 season, what should they do at TE moving forward?

 

[KJJ]

Already been posted.

https://cowboyszone.com/threads/did-this-deal-set-the-bar-for-schultz.496971/

 

[America's Cowboy]

Already been posted.

https://cowboyszone.com/threads/did-this-deal-set-the-bar-for-schultz.496971/

Doh! Sorry. I didn't see anything in the 1st page.

Mods, can you please delete this thread? My apologies.

 

[KJJ]

Doh! Sorry. I didn't see anything in the 1st page.

Mods, can you please delete this thread? My apologies.

It’s an easy mistake to make. Hard to keep track of what’s already been posted.

 

[Rayman70]

His market is whatever he gets. Like it or not. We better hope he signs a long term deal. It saves us more $ NOW on the cap. It will add $ now. Leaving him on the tag will kill the cap and leave us will literally 0 money. If we can sign him, instead of having 15 mill we will have closer to 20!! That 15 mill would otherwise be paid out to him fully guaranteed this year and hamstring the team. Its imperative we get a deal signed.

 

[Rayman70]

Already been posted.

https://cowboyszone.com/threads/did-this-deal-set-the-bar-for-schultz.496971/

A 5 year 70 mill $ deal. U watch

 

[conner01]

I think if we don't pay Schultz and Ferguson only looks like a backup, then we'll have to take a TE early to better our chances that we hit on one. We would also pick up a cheap vet option just in case.

Let me add that it's not all on Ferguson, though. We'll also be watching the improvement of McKeon in his third year and I'm intrigued by the UDFA Peyton Hendershot. He led Indiana in receptions last year with 46 for 543 yards and 4 TDs, and finished as the school's TE leader in receptions (136) and yards (1,479). His numbers last year match up well with Ferguson's (46-450-3) with Ferguson having slightly better career numbers (145-1,618). Doesn't mean anything, of course, as both could be worthless on this level.

I was hoping to see more if McKeon last year
The staff seems high on him
I don’t know that Ferguson will be a star but I think he has the traits and background to be a hard worker, willing to learn and give the effort needed.