Jake Ferguson has been a huge bargain for the Cowboys

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When the 2023 season began, there were plenty of questions surrounding how the Cowboys would fill the void left by Dalton Schultz.

While it was rumoured that the now 27-year-old passed up a three-year deal to remain in Dallas, it seems to have been a blessing in disguise for America’s Team.

Schultz is putting together another fine campaign for his new team, the Houston Texans, putting up 33 catches for 350 yards and four scores, but the man who replaced him in Dallas has been equally as good.

Jake Ferguson had some massive shoes to fill when he was named the full-time starter at tight end for Dallas this year, though, to this point, he’s done a fine job.

Ferguson’s career numbers

In his rookie campaign a year ago, Ferguson, a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, was rarely utilized, targeted 22 with 174 receiving yards.

However, 19 of those targets were catches, as he averaged 9.2 yards per catch while finding the end zone twice.

That small sample size was enough for Mike McCarthy to have him be the main guy at tight end after Schultz joined the Texans for one year and $9 million.

To this stage of the 2023 season, though, the team’s faith in Ferguson has paid off, as he is proving to be a reliable pass catcher.

After eight games, the Cowboys tight end has been targeted 43 times and made 32 catches for 328 yards.

Those numbers are not only career bests for the 24-year-old, but they’re on pace with the numbers Schultz produced in Dallas a year ago.

During the 2022 campaign, Schultz had 57 grabs for 577 yards and five scores.

There are still nine games remaining for the Cowboys in 2023, and Ferguson is averaging four catches a game, which, if he can maintain, would put him at 68 for the year, which would surpass all but one of the totals Schultz registered in Dallas (78 in 2021).

To this stage of the season, Ferguson has only one catch fewer than Schultz, while his 328 yards receiving are only 22 behind the Texans tight end.

At the moment, Schultz is putting up a career-high for yards-per-catch in Houston (10.6), slightly better than his best numbers with the Cowboys (10.4 yards-per-catch in 2021).

However, Ferguson is right on his tail, averaging 10.3 yards-per-catch while finding the end zone three times, one fewer than Schultz in 2023 and five away from matching the most that the native of Sandy Utah ever had in a single season with the Cowboys.

Mr. Dependable

Schultz has more targets than Ferguson, though the current Cowboys tight end is outperforming his predecessor in another area.

In his final three seasons as a Cowboy, Schultz failed to catch 20 or more of his targets, while 17 of the 50 targets he’s had in Houston have fallen incomplete.

Meanwhile only three of the 22 passes to Ferguson in 2022 hit the ground, while he’s failed to catch only nine of the 43 throws to him this year.

Ferguson is coming off a career game in the loss to the Eagles, catching seven of his 10 targets for 91 yards and a score.

In June 2022, Ferguson signed a four-year deal worth $4.36 million, and looking at his numbers this year, he’s been quite the bargain.