Cowboys No. 1 TE Battle - Jake Ferguson vs. Luke Schoonmaker?

The tight end position looms as a fascinating watch during Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, launching this week. Dalton Schultz is now a Houston Texan, and that creates an opportunity for someone else to take the baton.

With Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot and Sean McKeon all vying for snaps this season, the battle figures to be one that we will measure day by day, even snap by snap as we observe the work of the self-dubbed "Four Horsemen.''

Ferguson looms as the one who will get first crack at the starting job. But Schoonmaker was drafted for a reason, right?

Before the NFL Draft, when "Schoon'' was taken in the second round, coach Mike McCarthy broke down for us what he's looking for in a tight end. He talked of "the traditional Y position'' (lined up next to a tackle), and of "being a movement player'' and of "being a receiver.”

Said the coach: “It’s about matchups. You’re always trying to create favorable matchups for your players.”

McCarthy often talks about filling his roster with "as many 6-4, 250-pound men who can play on four downs'' as possible. He's not just talking about linebackers there, but ... that body type fits Ferguson, Hendershot and McKeon. Now along comes Schoonmaker with a lot to prove, but at 6-5 and 250? That's a start.

Replacing Schultz's production (577 yards, five touchdowns last season) will be a key emphasis during training camp with Ferguson and Hendershot combining for 277 yards and four touchdowns on 30 receptions last season. Both showed flashes, but that's all they were, flashes.

Schoonmaker's numbers? The Michigan tight end totaled 637 yards and seven touchdowns in four years for the Wolverines, so they don't jump off the page. But obviously, having him emerge eventually is the plan.he could be seen as an option to take over the No. 1 mantle and given his high draft status, that would make sense.

In truth, replacing Schultz will likely be done by all four "Horsemen," but someone needs to be the leader of the room. Will it be Ferguson, Schoonmaker or another candidate? At training camp, we will get some answers.

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