Cowboys Positional Needs, TE: Draft Asiasi or Trade for OJ Howard?

How have the Dallas Cowboys done in free agency to this point? Here we review the tight end position. Plus, we update our NFL Draft need meter. Trade for OJ Howard? Draft?

How have the Dallas Cowboys done in free agency to this point? Here we review the tight end position. ... which brings up an O.J. Howard trade. Plus, we update our NFL Draft need meter. ... which brings up Dallas' interest in Daniel Asiasi?

PLAYERS AT POSITION ENTERING FREE AGENCY: Jason Witten (starter), Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz, Cole Hikutini (reserve/future)

2020 COWBOYS FREE AGENTS: Witten, Jarwin (restricted).

COWBOYS LOST: Witten (signed a 1-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders).

COWBOYS RETAINED: Jarwin (a restricted free agent, he signed a multi-year deal with the Cowboys).

COWBOYS GAINED: Blake Bell (signed with the Cowboys on April 7).

THE BREAKDOWN: Losing Witten finally closes the door on his era as the Cowboys’ primary tight end (he retired after the 2017 season, called games for Monday Night Football in 2018 and returned to start in 2019). Jarwin, to the Cowboys, is their undisputed No. 1 tight end going into 2020 and they’re hoping that he can progress as a player to the point where he can be Witten-esque. The Cowboys still have hope that Schultz can grow into an adequate No. 2, and Bell feels like roster fodder at worst, and a blocking tight end at best. Plus, Bell can throw, as he threw for nearly 2,000 yards at Oklahoma before transitioning to playing tight end.

NEED: Low to medium. You know how the Cowboys are with their tight ends, right? They seem to take one every other year, and after passing on taking a tight end in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Cowboys might be due to take one. That's where the name Daniel Asiasi comes in. The UCLA product is a Dallas interviewee and was a planned 30-Visits guy. Dane Brugler actually projects the 6-3, 260-pounder to Dallas in the fourth round.

And what about Howard? On the GM Shuffle podcast, Michael Lombardi of reported that the Buccaneers are attempting to trade Howard. For Dallas (and most anybody else), this is a bad time to do so. The picks seem like hotter commodities than the relatively-failed vets do.

During the Jason Garrett era, the Cowboys usually carried at least three tight ends into the regular season. Jarwin, backed by Bell, with hope for Schultz, probably makes the threesome. ... with little possibility of a big trade but a remaining possibility of a mid-round draftee.