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Tony Romo and Gavin Escobar looked like old pals on the sideline last week as they happily relived their 24-yard scoring play in the 31-7 rout of St. Louis.
Elated after the rookie tight end hauled in his first career touchdown, Romo heartily slapped Escobar’s shoulder pads and shared some laughs before moving away.
Fortunately for the Cowboys, Escobar isn’t the only rookie that has Romo, Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones smiling.
First-round pick Travis Frederick has anchored the offensive line at center as a Day One starter. Escobar, a second-rounder, is finding his way in the passing game. Third-round safety J.J. Wilcox has replaced veteran Will Allen as a starter. Another third-round pick, receiver Terrance Williams from Baylor, started in the opener and could be busy Sunday with Miles Austin out with a hamstring injury.
In 2012, only two rookies logged starts: cornerback Morris Claiborne and tight end James Hanna.
Granted, three games is not much of a sample size. But when it comes to rookie production, the Cowboys (2-1) have reasons to believe this class might be a winner.
“The jury’s still out on every one of these guys,” Garrett said. “We’re three games into this. But they’ve responded well to the opportunity given them in the spring, in training camp, in the preseason. You want to give those guys more and more opportunities.”
With Escobar returning to the city he starred in as a collegian, does Dallas give him even more opportunities against the Chargers (1-2) in a stadium he knows well? Selected with the 15th pick of the second round (No. 47 overall), Escobar became San Diego State’s highest drafted players since offensive tackle Kyle Turley was selected seventh overall by New Orleans in 1998.
“Gavin has been doing a lot of good things for us,” Garrett said. “We’ve thrown the ball to him. He’s made some contested catches. He’s demonstrated some toughness. It doesn’t seem to be too big for him.”
While the Cowboys want to see Escobar improve as a blocker, he appears to be on his way to fulfilling his promise as a pass-catcher.
“He’s growing more confidence each and every week, so you want to keep giving a guy like that chances,” Garrett said of Escobar, who has caught a pass in every game. “He’s a very natural pass catcher who has a good feel for the passing game and is quarterback friendly.”
Escobar was a prep star in nearby Santa Margarita. He bought 22 tickets to the game for family and friends.
“It’s definitely nice having the first one (TD catch) out of the way,” Escobar told FoxSportsSouthwest.com. “It would be cool to be able to score in front of my family and everything. We’ll see how it plays out. I’m used to playing on that field.”
No matter what happens Sunday, the Cowboys are just glad to see so many rookies contributing in a major way. Bad memories of the 2008 and 2009 draft classes still remain at Valley Ranch. Of the nearly 20 players selected over that two-year span, only one remains with Dallas: cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
“We drafted a number of guys this year who we’re counting on,” Garrett said. “Our team has gotten a lot younger here in the last couple of years. The only way that can really happen is if you draft well.”
It’s still early, but it looks like the Cowboys did that this year.
Continue reading...
Elated after the rookie tight end hauled in his first career touchdown, Romo heartily slapped Escobar’s shoulder pads and shared some laughs before moving away.
Fortunately for the Cowboys, Escobar isn’t the only rookie that has Romo, Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones smiling.
First-round pick Travis Frederick has anchored the offensive line at center as a Day One starter. Escobar, a second-rounder, is finding his way in the passing game. Third-round safety J.J. Wilcox has replaced veteran Will Allen as a starter. Another third-round pick, receiver Terrance Williams from Baylor, started in the opener and could be busy Sunday with Miles Austin out with a hamstring injury.
In 2012, only two rookies logged starts: cornerback Morris Claiborne and tight end James Hanna.
Granted, three games is not much of a sample size. But when it comes to rookie production, the Cowboys (2-1) have reasons to believe this class might be a winner.
“The jury’s still out on every one of these guys,” Garrett said. “We’re three games into this. But they’ve responded well to the opportunity given them in the spring, in training camp, in the preseason. You want to give those guys more and more opportunities.”
With Escobar returning to the city he starred in as a collegian, does Dallas give him even more opportunities against the Chargers (1-2) in a stadium he knows well? Selected with the 15th pick of the second round (No. 47 overall), Escobar became San Diego State’s highest drafted players since offensive tackle Kyle Turley was selected seventh overall by New Orleans in 1998.
“Gavin has been doing a lot of good things for us,” Garrett said. “We’ve thrown the ball to him. He’s made some contested catches. He’s demonstrated some toughness. It doesn’t seem to be too big for him.”
While the Cowboys want to see Escobar improve as a blocker, he appears to be on his way to fulfilling his promise as a pass-catcher.
“He’s growing more confidence each and every week, so you want to keep giving a guy like that chances,” Garrett said of Escobar, who has caught a pass in every game. “He’s a very natural pass catcher who has a good feel for the passing game and is quarterback friendly.”
Escobar was a prep star in nearby Santa Margarita. He bought 22 tickets to the game for family and friends.
“It’s definitely nice having the first one (TD catch) out of the way,” Escobar told FoxSportsSouthwest.com. “It would be cool to be able to score in front of my family and everything. We’ll see how it plays out. I’m used to playing on that field.”
No matter what happens Sunday, the Cowboys are just glad to see so many rookies contributing in a major way. Bad memories of the 2008 and 2009 draft classes still remain at Valley Ranch. Of the nearly 20 players selected over that two-year span, only one remains with Dallas: cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
“We drafted a number of guys this year who we’re counting on,” Garrett said. “Our team has gotten a lot younger here in the last couple of years. The only way that can really happen is if you draft well.”
It’s still early, but it looks like the Cowboys did that this year.
Continue reading...