Escobar? Did he step up and show us anything?

[TheMarathonContinues]

Randle averaged only 3 yards a carry and saw carries in only 5 games. What I'm saying about Lacey I said during the draft in April. How could taking the top rated RB in the 2nd round have been a waste when Murray has a history of missing games every year with injuries and may not even be resigned due to all the injuries? Murray missed 6 games in 2012 and 2 games this past season he's missed games every season. Lacey produced almost 1200 yards and 11 TD's behind a Packers OL that's not as good as the Cowboys OL was in 2013. The Packers depended on him with Rodgers out and he stepped up. He would have been an excellent short yardage back for the Cowboys and would have been tough to keep out of the end zone in goal line situations.

You need 2 good backs and he and Murray would have given the team a great one-two punch at RB. Lacey would have done a lot for the Cowboys when Murray was out and with his power would have provided a dimension that Barber gave the team. Lacey ran all over the Cowboys for 141 yards averaging over 6 yards a carry on a bad ankle. Escobar is playing behind a player who never misses games and has plenty left in the tank. Lacey made a hell of a lot more sense than Escobar in the second round.

Yea but we don't even run the one we have. Getting Lacy would've been just as much of a reach peak as would Escobar. Neither position was worth a 2nd round pick.

 

[jterrell]

Nobody is missing that. In fact many have said that's why you don't waste picks on a #2 TE.

Explain that to Belichek.

Escobar will be our starting TE for years. Bennett would have been had Witten proven mortal.
Perhaps these young TEs have helped push Witten?

Right now Escobar is a better athlete than Witten. He needs to learn to block and run routes reliably but he has a great future for this team. And he was probably a great draft pick. We will know in the next couple seasons.

 

[jterrell]

the problem with Escobar as I see it, is that he was not a one of kind, must have or you miss out player. There are TEs like him coming out every draft. He was not an absolute need when he was drafted. There were many other pressing areas that could have been addressed instead of picking a 3 string TE in the second round.When your 6th round pick gets more playing time than your 2nd rounder, its a problem. Escobar was not a need but a luxury.

BTW I heard Micky saying that a blocking TE would be needed in this upcoming draft. LOL.

Rofl. Dude there are not a lot of Escobars out there. He is a ridiculously tall guy with pure WR skills. That is very rare.

He isn't a finished product but he has a shot at special.

The standard hybrid guy is 6'3" 240 and blazes. Different body type altogether.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Escobar can be a good NFL pass catching TE. He appears to be a smooth enough athlete along with his size to be a reliable short/intermediate threat. He appears to have great hands. I never agreed with where he was selected but that isn't important at this point. For him to get more playing time, he must improve his physical strength and blocking.

 

[KJJ]

Yea but we don't even run the one we have. Getting Lacy would've been just as much of a reach peak as would Escobar. Neither position was worth a 2nd round pick.

Murray had a career high 217 carries this past season. If the Cowboys had 2 quality backs and a defense that could make stops they would run the ball more. The Cowboys inability to stop opponents takes them out of their running game. Murray would have had 25+ carries vs Chicago if the Cowboys defense didn't allow the Bears to score on every possession. Not having a running game helped cost the Cowboys the Detroit game. Murray was out with an injury and Randle who replaced him only averaged 1.9 per carry. Randle and Dunbar combined for only 46 yards rushing. Having a back like Lacy to replace Murray could have helped save that game. With a 1:24 left the Cowboys tried running the ball to eat up the clock and only gained 5 yards in a quick 3 and out leaving Detroit with 1:02 left to steal the game. A punishing back like Lacey would have come in real handy in that situation. He would have made a great short yardage back and closer.

Having a back like him would have probably kept the Cowboys from having to throw the ball on 4th and one vs Philly in the season finale. Murray wasn't effective Sunday Night and has a tendency to lose yards which forced a bad play call in a situation where a punishing runner like Lacey could have powered his way for a yard moving the chains. Your opinion is that neither TE or RB was worth a #2 pick but looking at the players left on the board when the Cowboys were up in the 2nd round Lacey made the most sense based on the Cowboys needs and where he was rated. The Cowboys running game was a major issue in 2012 ranking 31st. Part of the reason they ranked so poorly was Murray missed 6 games. Murray isn't durable and can't be counted on to play 16 games so you need a solid replacement. The Cowboys passed up the top rated back in the draft and chose what many had as the 3rd rated TE in Escobar which was the last position I would have drafted with that pick.

Any position would have helped the Cowboys more than TE including DL or LB with all the injuries they ended up suffering on defense. I said on draft day Escobar would be lucky to equal the 20 receptions Bennett had his rookie year and he ended up with only 9 receptions which was 5 fewer than Fasano had his rookie year. Unless the Cowboys move on from Witten in the next couple of years Escobar will never live up to his draft status. If he's given opportunities he could produce but with Witten here he's not going to get many.

 

[CyberB0b]

He showed us that he can catch an uncontested pass with no defenders within 10 yards.

 

[Hoofbite]

Explain that to Belichek.

Escobar will be our starting TE for years. Bennett would have been had Witten proven mortal.
Perhaps these young TEs have helped push Witten?

Right now Escobar is a better athlete than Witten. He needs to learn to block and run routes reliably but he has a great future for this team. And he was probably a great draft pick. We will know in the next couple seasons.

There's nothing to explain to Bill.

Drafting a high #2 TE after failing to make it work on previous attempts (more so why it didn't work) is stupid.

Bill makes it work, Dallas doesn't.

Wasted resources. And the idea of guys who barely see the field pushing Witten?

Laughable.