Cowboys Country

Cowboys & Travis Kelce 2.0: Be The Chiefs Of The NFC?

With the Dallas Cowboys altering their playbook to implement a West Coast offense, how high should the tight end position be on the team's NFL Draft board?

Isaiah DeAnda Delgado

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The Dallas Cowboys will feature a version of the West Coast Offense in 2023, certainly reminiscent of what Coach Mike McCarthy ran with the Green Bay Packers.

But we like the idea, too, of maybe being reminiscent of the Kansas City Chiefs … in one key way.

Since entering the league, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has benefitted from having an elite tight end in Travis Kelce.

Dallas starting quarterback Dak Prescott may have found similar success using Dalton Schultz in their new offense. Schultz, though, wasn’t prioritized here as he left the Cowboys this offseason for Houston after ranking sixth among tight ends in receiving yards since 2021.

Last season Prescott struggled in one damning area. Despite missing five games from an injury, he set a new career high in interceptions with his league-leading total of 15.

McCarthy has acknowledged that his starting quarterback’s offseason development is crucial for the success of Dallas' offense entering next season.

A successful West Coast Offense is largely about short routes and horizontal routes. But done right, it could give the Cowboys' newly acquired deep threat, wide receiver Brandin Cooks, space deep downfield.

However, for Cooks to play the Tyreek Hill "Cheetah" role in this offense, he'll need a tight end to threaten opposing defenses with routes closer to the line of scrimmage as Kelce once did for now-Dolphins star Hill.

If the Cowboys want to become the Chiefs of the NFC, they’ll need to find Prescott his version of Kelce by selecting a tight end early in this year’s NFL Draft, such as Utah’s Dalton Kincaid or Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer … or look for development from young incumbents Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot.

If someone in here evolves into a Kelce 2.0 - who himself was only a third-round pick - McCarthy’s already good offense has a chance to hum as consistently as the Super Bowl champion’s does.

You can follow Isaiah DeAnda Delgado on Twitter and Instagram @IsaiahDDelgado.

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Isaiah DeAnda Delgado
ISAIAH DEANDA DELGADO

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