The Dallas Cowboys have had their fair share of puzzling draft picks in recent years. An unpleasant reminder for fans are the first two draft picks from 2023, Mazi Smith and Luke Schoonmaker, respectively, coming in from Michigan.
Now, with Schoonmaker suffering a concussion during practice, the door is wide open for anything to happen at the TE position. With Schoonmaker out of the lineup, undrafed rookie Rivaldo Fairweather has continued to make noise, working with the 12 personnel group with Jake Ferguson in practice this week.
Fairweather has a great frame at 6-foot-3, 249 pounds, and he caught a touchdown pass in the game against the Los Angeles Rams. With Princeton Fant, John Stephens Jr. and Brevyn Spann-Ford all facing injuries at some point this preseason.
Former Cowboys quarterback Babe Laufenberg made it pretty clear that Schoonmaker continues to put a burden on the team by being in and out of the lineup due to injury.
Rivaldo Fairweather might be making the Cowboys rethink Luke Schoonmaker's spot
Since Schoonmaker entered the league, he hasn't really blossomed.Babe Laufenberg made it clear on 105.3 The Fan that Schoonmaker's days may be over. With Schoonmaker suffering another injury setback, this might be the perfect excuse for the front office to ship him off.
'Things just haven't gone (Schoonmaker's) way, and there's no question his confidence gets shaken. You're supposed to be the guy, and you're not the guy. So, he's got to figure out a way to get his confidence back," Laufenberg said.
Schoonmaker was supposed to give the Cowboys a dynamic two-TE set, but it just hasn't come to pass.
The third-year pro has been looked at as more of a blocker than anything else, and Spann-Ford seemingly already jumped him on the depth chart a week into camp before his ankle injury. Fairweather, meanwhile, has simply done his job by forcing the coaches to think twice about Schoonmaker's spot.
The writing on the wall for Schoonmaker was always there this summer, especially after Ferguson's four-year extension came out of nowhere.
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