FRISCO - Tight ends are suddenly the talk of the NFL, from "Tight End University'' featuring Taylor Swift to this week's pair of notable (and connected) trades.
The Miami Dolphins salary-dumped Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith on the Pittsburgh Steelers ... and then replaced him by luring out of retirement Darren Waller in a bizarre trade with the New York Giants.
And now, it seems, folks want the Dallas Cowboys to get in on the act ... For instance, two ideas popping up on the radar ...
1 - Call the Steelers again, following up on the George Pickens acquisition, and ask them to trade to Dallas the 6-7, 264-pound third-string tight end Darnell Washington.
2 - Get in on the Tight End Trade action by moving out Luke Schoonmaker.
Washington is just 23 and is a compelling figure to be sure, a gigantic body ... who in two NFL seasons has managed to catch 26 passes and one TD.
So what's the lure here? How is that promising or successful when in Dallas, Schoonmaker (who was taken in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, one round ahead of Washington) has substantially more production with 35 catches and three TDs?
How is Washington a "prospect'' while Schoonmaker is a "bust''?
Think about this as well: "Schoon'' (at 6-5 and 250) is, let's say, thought of as a draft failure. If so ...
Why is anybody knocking on Dallas door with a trade offer worth taking?
Schoon, to our eyes during minicamp, was in the process of getting beaten out by 2024 UDFA Brevyn Spann-Ford ... and we wonder why anyone would place a bet that Washington's third-stringer would be better than he is.
Oh, and guess what? If you view Washington as "physically imposing'' at 6-7 and 264. ... what must you think of Spann-Ford, who is 6-7 and 270?
What's getting lost here is that we (fans and media) are talking about the shuffling of backups. After being named to the Pro Bowl in 2023, this past season was a disappointing one for Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson, no doubt.
But he's the starter. And he seems poised for a bounce-back in 2025. And given that Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is in that same category, Ferguson is the tight end story to cover here, not fantasy scenarios in which third-string tight ends somehow matter on the same level.