There are plenty of things to look for within the Cowboys' offense, but one player has to prove something after an indifferent 2025 season.
The new season for the Dallas Cowboys is going to have fans on the lookout for several things across the regular season.
How will Christian Parker's defense fare? Will Caleb Downs be as advertised? Can Jaydon Blue finally prove he's a capable backup? Can George Pickens pick up where he left off in 2025?
All of those will require our attention, and that will likely start in training camp.
But there is also one other player who, I think, deserves to be on "watch" in 2026, and that's tight end Jake Ferguson.
Yes, he signed his four-year, $50 million deal with $30 million guaranteed last season, but Ferguson wasn't exactly great in 2025.
He managed 600 yards and 8 TDs, which, on face value, is a decent enough return, especially considering Ferguson went the entire 2025 season without finding the end zone.
But Jake's 600 yards came from 82 receptions, which means he averaged just 7.3 yards per reception. That isn't great, and it is here where the "Ferguson on watch" storyline comes into focus.
His 7.3 yards per reception didn't even have Ferguson in the top 25 among tight ends.
So, he was three yards and a cloud of dust. That's got to change.
Last year, for as good as the offense was, Dak Prescott and Ferguson's connection on their famed seam route was non-existent, and that was surprising.
That is where the duo, in previous seasons, had made their biggest gains, with Ferguson being the chain mover Dallas needed him to be. For whatever reason, that was nowhere to be seen last season.
Well, it's got to return.
We know it is in Jake's arsenal to be a field-stretcher because in his first three years, he averaged at least 8.4 yards per catch. So there will be eyes on Ferguson to see if he can become more of a threat downfield instead of a five-or six-yard checkdown option.
And with Brevyn Spann-Ford averaging 9.8 and 10.0 yards per reception in his first two seasons, coupled with the athletic monster Michael Trigg, the Cowboys do have more athletic tight ends than Jake on the roster.
Now, he is the undisputed No. 1 tight end; there's no doubt about that, but when you are being paid what he is, the offense needs more than 7.3 yards per reception.
And while Ferguson isn't in "roster trouble" or anything like that, this will be a close watch in 2026, because if he has a similar season as last, and others in Spann-Ford prove they can be dependable downfield targets, who knows what could be in store down the line.
