and when the starter goes down and now you have to count on him to do the job then what? I want Rico to do well but Dallas is looking for players to step up at TE, if what they want is a receiver with little blocking ability that is called a WR. As I have 100 times here he does not need to be a devastating blocker but in a offense that is built around the running game he has to be able to contribute as a decent blocker. Right now the assumption is he is a great receiver when reality is he had 8 catches in 2 season of pre season action vs backups and 3rd stringers to me that is not a ringing endorsement to hand a job to him. If he shows himself as one of the top 2 or 3 on the roster (depending on how many TE Dallas keeps) then great. I'm not opposed to him
This is what I disagree with. Not using him as a threat in the passing game because he's not a reliable blockers is extremely shortsighted. By using him as a threat down the seam or splitting him out wide, you're taking a LBer out of the play. That's just as effective as blocking at the 2nd level. For example:
88 11 77 55 72 70 71 80 13
4 21
A team has to come out in nickel against this formation. With just one route, let's say a skinny post down the seam, Gathers opens up 3 things from RPO.
1: 5-man defensive box if LB supports covering 80 downfield (run)
2: Seam route pass if 80 is in single coverage, body position against the safety is built in
3: Man coverage on outside WR, depending on safety rotation
You're getting 3 legitimate options from 1 route simply because of Gathers' size, and he hasn't had to throw a block yet. Witten couldn't do this the last couple of years, and this is basic, easy, RPO. You could run this play 5 times a game, and that's not accounting for how effective he can be in the red zone.
If Gathers can't command a double team down the seam, then he has no place in the NFL, but he can absolutely be a weapon in this offense, regardless of how well he can block.
