The Dallas Cowboys have several players entering their contract year with the organization and the 2016 season will go a long way in determining their future with America’s Team.
Gavin Escobar in particular is an intriguing player entering last year of his rookie deal, but for some reason the Cowboys have failed to find a way to utilize his skill set. Something that I find really strange considering the popularity of the receiver type tight end that is being utilized around the NFL.
We may end up seeing another tight end that was drafted in the second round move on and find success with another team in the NFL. It’s a little sad when you think about it.
In fact, over the past decade the Dallas Cowboys have been terrible at drafting players in the second round. I’ve written about their 2nd round struggles and setbacks before, and my fellow Staff Writer here at Inside The Star, RJ Ochoa, took it a step further with his article last week discussing the Cowboys utter failure in the 2nd round.
Unfortunately, Gavin Escobar falls into the failure of finding players in the second round for the Cowboys, but I don’t think it’s entirely his fault.
You see, he was drafted with the mind that the Cowboys offense would utilize the two tight end set or 12 personnel more. That never really happened and has impacted the role that Escobar has had because he’s going to have a hard time finding playing time behind Jason Witten.
Escobar’s best traits are his size and receiving ability, but the Cowboys tried to turn him into an in-line blocker and unfortunately because of his size he has struggled in this area.
The Cowboys failure to incorporate Escobar into the offense is somewhat mind-boggling to me and I don’t know if things will change too much in 2016. He is a mismatch waiting to happen and I personally think he would make the passing game for the Cowboys just a little bit more potent.
I was a little surprised however to see that he wasn’t one of the players to start the season on the PUP list to start training camp. I for one wasn’t even sure he would be able to return from his Achilles injury he suffered in week 15 last year in December and be ready for the week 1 season opener against the New York Giants.
Well, not only is he ready, he’s out there practicing with everyone else in training camp. The Cowboys are however making sure that they take it slow with him and the other players on the roster that are returning from injuries.
No matter how you feel about Gavin Escobar, I think there is one thing we can agree upon. He had to put in a tremendous amount of work in rehab to be ready to participate in training camp.
I wasn’t the only one surprised Escobar was on the field to kickoff training camp practices and how speedily he recovered from his Achilles injury.
A tribute to modern medicine that Gavin Escobar is practicing after tearing Achilles last year. pic.twitter.com/dLPDRhJ8AA
— Babe Laufenberg (@BabeLaufenberg) July 30, 2016
It’s true that the advancements in modern medicine have made these injuries less of a concern and allow players to continue their career in the NFL, but I don’t want to take away from all the work Escobar had to do in rehab to be able to get back on the field as soon as possible.
In fact, it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Former NFL scout and current Staff Writer for the Dallas Cowboys, Bryan Broaddus, was rather complementary after watching Escobar so far in practice.
“Escobar is moving better than he was pre-injury. There is some flow to his game without the stiffness or tightness we’ve seen in the past.”
The fact that Escobar is doing everything that he can possibly do as a person makes you want to believe that he can become a contributor on offense. Hopefully, he can only get a chance to prove why he was drafted so highly in the first place.
So, is Gavin Escobar ready for his last opportunity?
I would have to say absolutely!
Please feel free to use the comment section below to share with everyone your thoughts and opinions about Gavin Escobar’s last chance opportunity with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016.
Time to pass the torch Witt!
It may be time to pass the torch, but it won’t be to Escobar. Witten is still playing at a relatively high level, but you never know when his age will start to catch up with him.