Why fantasy managers should target Cowboys' Blake Jarwin in 2021

Liz Loza and Neil Dutton explain why the Dallas TE should be on your radar this year.

Video Transcript

LIZ LOZA: Who do you find yourself targeting regularly?

NEIL DUTTON: It's Blake Jarwin.

LIZ LOZA: Really?

NEIL DUTTON: Yes, and that's because I was also doing it last year. And then he got hurt. I just think that the offense that they had last year was-- you split it into two parts. There was the before Dalton, and there was the after Dalton. So when Dak Prescott was there, they were targeting the tight end 17% of the plays. That tight end was Dalton Schultz.

Now, bless him, Dalton Schultz was solid. He put up occasional numbers. He was a streamer at the position and one of the very few who remained streamer-worthy because he got picked up and then dropped by everyone. Blake Jarwin is an upgrade on Dalton Schultz. And if anyone wants to argue with me, that's fine. You're wrong. Please argue with me.

And I just think that that offense, it just looks like it can support so many people. But their defense can't be as bad as it was last year, you know, he says. I'm an Eagles fan. I hope it is, but I don't think it will be. And I just think that we saw that even last year with the three wide receivers, with Amari, with CeeDee Lamb, with Michael Gallup, the tight end was still productive and valuable. And I just like that everyone seems to have forgotten that they were all gushing over Blake Jarwin a year ago, and I see how late he's going now. It's almost perfect.

LIZ LOZA: I love that this is the guy that you decided to highlight. He is returning from-- I believe he tore his ACL September 2nd, so he's almost a year out from the ACL tear from last year. Dalton Schultz also banged up right now with an ankle injury. I don't suspect that to carry over well into the season, but it does mean that Jarwin's rehab from the ACL issue has been fast-tracked. And he saw a good amount of time in preseason action.

He is right now the tight end 23. He has an ADP of 219. And you talked about the 17%. It's funny, I ran the same stats myself. Over the first four weeks before week five, obviously, when Dak went out, he targeted the tight end 15% of the time, which means there should be plenty of opportunity for Blake Jarwin, who is an afterthought in drafts right now.

NEIL DUTTON: Yeah, it's interesting. People want to get-- they want Dallas. They all want a piece of this offense, but they all want CeeDee Lamb, who apparently is now on his way to Canton just because of what he's doing in "Hard Knocks." I've not seen this week's episode yet, so I can't really comment.

We know that Amari Cooper has been mustard at home games, especially with Dak Prescott. We know that Michael Gallup might be getting better used this year. We know Ezekiel Elliott's there. We know all this. But the smart of us know that Blake Jarwin signed a big contract last year, and they want to use him. And they wanted to use him so much that they just went, oh, just force feed Dalton Schultz into that role. It'll do. And that's what they want to do with Blake Jarwin, I think.

LIZ LOZA: You make another excellent point because we have question marks about Dak's health right now. He does have this sore arm. He's not gonna play in the second preseason game against the Texans. They are easing him back. This might be more serious than any of us want to believe right now. And the thing about Blake Jarwin, as we saw with Dalton Schultz last year, is that there will be enough opportunities, and he is perhaps more quarterback-proof than the rest of the pass-catching options.

NEIL DUTTON: Yeah. I mean, I don't know if it'll be Ben DiNucci who would come in. He's gonna look for people close to the line of scrimmage to get the ball out of his hands so he doesn't get smacked around. And that will be Jarwin.

It's certainly not gonna be Gallup. You would hope it wouldn't be CeeDee Lamb. It might be Zeke. But I'd say Jarwin's another player that get it in his hands, let him make magic by himself because he's a talented athletic specimen. And you know we were robbed of it last year, so let's enjoy it this year at a cheaper price.

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