This is why the Cowboys keep drafting TE's

[xwalker]

Escobar is slow (4.82 Forty) and not a dominant blocker, not a good combination if you ask me. He may be as good as John Phillips, with the difference being that he cost us a second round pick as opposed to a 6th round pick for Phillips. The jury is still out on him but so far it looks like a major reach. Jordan Reed who the Commanders took in the third round looks to be a better player so far into their rookie campaigns.

At 6-2.5, 236 I doubt if Jordon Reed is doing much on-the-line blocking. Also, he does not have Jason Witten in ahead of him on the depth chart.

 

[silver]

Escobar's top speed is higher than Witten's.
Escobar: 18.94 mph
Witten: 17.93 mph

Yes but he needs two football fields to accomplish his top speed.

 

[silver]

At 6-2.5, 236 I doubt if Jordon Reed is doing much on-the-line blocking. Also, he does not have Jason Witten in ahead of him on the depth chart.

He's faster, more athletic and so far a lot more productive. Escobar can't beat Hanna who is physically similar to Reed.

 

[xwalker]

Yes but he needs two football fields to accomplish his top speed.

No, it happens in 20 yards.

 

[xwalker]

He's faster, more athletic and so far a lot more productive. Escobar can't beat Hanna who is physically similar to Reed.

He is more productive because the intended veteran starter, Fred Davis has 3 catches for the season.

There is no proof that Escobar is not a good receiver.

 

[silver]

No, it happens in 20 yards.

Jason's combine was 4.65 compared to Gavin's 4.84. Maybe now in his 12th season Jason may be slower but Gavin will never be as fast as Jason once was.

 

[tm1119]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the reason we keep drafting TE's is because we have yet to draft 1 that has produced here. I understand what the OP is saying, but the fact remains that the front office seemingly keeps taking the wrong guy. With Jason Witten already on the roster the TE spot shouldn't be this much of a headache.

 

[xwalker]

Jason's combine was 4.65 compared to Gavin's 4.84. Maybe now in his 12th season Jason may be slower but Gavin will never be as fast as Jason once was.

That's not a measurement of top speed. It's a measurement of running from a dead-stop. Top speed is the difference between the 10 and 20 yard times or 10 and 40 times. Escobar ran the 10 to 20 stretch faster than Witten.

 

[Hoofbite]

At 6-2.5, 236 I doubt if Jordon Reed is doing much on-the-line blocking. Also, he does not have Jason Witten in ahead of him on the depth chart.

Since the Dallas game which is just about the time he became the starting TE, he's blocked on 40% of his plays. Before that game it looks like he was primary used in the passing game while someone else blocked. I haven't watched him but I would bet he's doing some blocking on-the-line.

As far as Jason Witten goes, that's not who is taking his snaps. It's Hannah.

If we're going to say the team has Jason Witten as a reason why Escobar hasn't gotten many opportunities then we have to ask why they would draft him in the first place. Groom a TE? This team doesn't even groom QBs, now they're going to groom a TE?

 

[BigStar]

You should be a scout with your perfect ability to know the future.

Slow (check), Weak (check), Small School Production (check) : 2nd round pick of the Dallas Cowboys?

 

[Roadtrip635]

I guess it's more your opinion than fact that we are in a win now mode.
Everything JG does is build longterm and not shortterm. And thats why JJ is giving him every chance he can. Because he still believes in Garrett's way.
The fact that Excobar hasn't played alot this season doe not mean the pick was a bad one. We can afford to give him time to develop. I see him drafted as Wittens replacement. And Witten will be around another year or two.

This team's actions(or inaction) suggest more of a win now mode. It just gave Romo a $100+ million contract, there is no young QB the team is attempting to develop, the projected starting DL were all 30+ years old and none were drafted to develop long term. Those few things alone begin to suggest win now. Of all the positions the team could have drafted to develop for the future, QB, DL, OL, LB, S, RB in the 2nd round, they decided on a TE instead? That doesn't make sense. Escobar's talents are not so unique that we could not have waited until next year or the year after for a TE. In this salary cap era of the NFL, 2nd round picks are expected to play meaningful minutes right away. There was still plenty of quality picks available when we drafted Escobar, that would have been more beneficial to the team short and long term. The team overvalued or overestimated Escobar's abilities. There will be other TE's available to us in the draft over the next two years that will at least be equal, if not greater to the skillset Escobar possesses.

Escobar, as shown by his playing time, is not developing but regressing. He's playing less snaps now than he did earlier in the year. He has 4 catches on the year and hasn't caught a pass since week 5. You would figure someone picked in the 2nd round would have at least enough catches that you would need two hands to count them.

 

[Common Sense]

Gavin Escobar was a stupid pick, period.

 

[silver]

That's not a measurement of top speed. It's a measurement of running from a dead-stop. Top speed is the difference between the 10 and 20 yard times or 10 and 40 times. Escobar ran the 10 to 20 stretch faster than Witten.

He looks slower than molasses to the naked eye.

 

[silver]

He is more productive because the intended veteran starter, Fred Davis has 3 catches for the season.

There is no proof that Escobar is not a good receiver.

And yet he's behind Hannah on the depth chart. The coaches must be blind to his otherwise unquestionable pass catching, inline blocking and "hybrid" tight end skills.

 

[85Cowboy85]

He may not have been drafted to be a blocker but the fact that he can't has undoubtedly relegated him to a handful of snaps per game. Whether or not these receiving TEs block for other teams is largely irrelevant because they need to be able to block for Dallas because Dallas asks them to.

The fact that they are asked to block is probably the reason people are upset that they can't block. They are asked to block but can't. Hannah has 205 snaps from PFF, only 69 of which have come from running routes. If you combine Hannah and Escobar, even with Escobar basically running twice as many routes as he has blocks, the two of them are still blocking on about 55% of the plays. Because they cannot block, any time they aren't running routes they're a liability and likely contributing to this awful running game.

How can you say people don't understand and then follow it up by saying that their blocking doesn't matter when, A) they are asked to block more than they are allowed to run routes, and B) blocking is the sole reason why Escobar hasn't really been on the field? Clearly blocking is important for Dallas.

Going a step further, it's important for all of these hybrid TE because without blocking they'd just be WRs.

Jimmy Graham still blocks 30% of the time. Julius Thomas and Vernon Davis block more than they run routes, 45.8% and 48.6% respectively. Gronkowski blocks about 35% of the time which is the same for Tony Gonzalez. Jordan Cameron blocks a little more at about 38% of the time.

You are right by suggesting that the hybrid TEs are primarily used to catch passes. That doesn't change anything regarding their need to have blocking ability. Even though Escobar wasn't drafted with blocking in mind, he absolutely has to be able to block. First and foremost, the team is going to ask him to block so that in itself is reason enough.

More importantly, if he cannot block it limits the ability for him to create mismatches. If he never blocks, he's a WR and a slow one at that. Teams will play coverage all day on a guy who runs a 4.8 40 yard dash because you aren't going to get beat deep and even their worst coverage corner has the speed to make up ground and try to get a hand on the ball.

It's true that all TE are asked to block a certain percentage of the time. However what I would point out is that not all blocking is create equal.

According to Ciskowski the team classifies TEs in three separate ways. The U,Y and the F/H. The distinction between these classifications is what kind of blocks they have to make.

Y - Inline tight end who blocks the front side on running plays, extension of the offensive line.
U - Inline tight end who blocks the back side
F/H - Move tight end. Can seal the end and line up in different spots ect.

The U often only has to basically get in the way of the backside pursuit. So although he is technically blocking his job is a lot easier then the Y who is going to usually be the lead guy on a running play. Of course if from time to time you might run at the U but only in a small percentage of plays. This is how numerous guys who are not great blockers have been able to stick around the NFL for so long.

They projected Escobar to be a Y eventually. They like his frame and his long arms and think at some point he could be a dominant blocker despite being raw initially. Coming out of the draft they knew he was likely to start out as a U. And honestly San Diego state is probably not running an NFL like passing offense either. The rookie struggles probably should have been expected.

 

[Hoov]

Escobar's pick cannot be justified in terms of this season. The coaches haven't even attempted to put him into the offensive playbook outside of some the earlier games. I just don't see why a team that is essentially in a win now mode would draft a developmental pick like that who by the team's own admission can't block and has a Hall of Famer ahead of him on the depth chart.

Maybe they are not in a win now mode. Maybe they are selling to the fans that as long as romo is here with dez the cowboys remain "relevant" while they are really building for the future. Maybe that is why jones says Garrett will remain head coach regardless of this season success. Maybe Garrett and jones care more about building for the future than winning now but they aren't going to broadcast that to the fans.

I don't know this for certain, however given the body of work we have seen pertaining to the choices and personel decisions they have made, along with certain statements - this seems to be a logical conclusion.

 

[percyhoward]

Great discussion from start to finish. This should be a featured thread.

 

[nalam]

Jason's combine was 4.65 compared to Gavin's 4.84. Maybe now in his 12th season Jason may be slower but Gavin will never be as fast as Jason once was.

Jason's current speed will be lot ..lot slower, he looks like he moving through quicksand. He has still has the smarts , but can't move .

 

[xwalker]

And yet he's behind Hannah on the depth chart. The coaches must be blind to his otherwise unquestionable pass catching, inline blocking and "hybrid" tight end skills.

The #2 TE on most teams must be more of a blocker than the #1 TE. If Witten were out, it's possible that Escobar would get more playing time than Hanna. The #1 TE is not really the same position as the #2 TE.

It's not all about physical blocking ability. They have Hanna playing multiple different roles. Y (on the line TE), H-back, FB. If is was only about physical blocking ability, then TE Andre Smith would be the #2 TE. As a simple Y (on the line TE), he is physically a better blocker than the other TEs.

 

[xwalker]

He looks slower than molasses to the naked eye.

Players with long legs appear to be moving slower than players with short legs because they have a longer stride and take less steps. Watch Ernie Sims run next to Bruce Carter. Sims' legs look like they're moving 100 mph while Carter is just gliding along, but Carter is actually moving faster.