The Dallas Cowboys’ tight end group was already an intriguing position group due to the promising yet unproven talent on the depth chart ahead of the 2025 NFL season:
Jake Ferguson still has something to prove in a big contract year, Luke Schoonmaker will be forced to fend off the “draft bust” label, and younger players such as John Stephens Jr. and Brevyn Spann-Ford have shown flashes of being worthy of roles on offense.
With Lunda Wells back as TE coach and a new offensive coordinator in town in Klayton Adams, there’s one of these players I view as a big winner.
If Adams influences Brian Schottenheimer’s choice of personnel groups, you can expect more multiple tight end sets for the Cowboys in 2025. After all, the Arizona Cardinals (where Adams was OL coach), ran the 9th most 12 personnel and the 2nd most 13 personnel, per SumerSports.
The Cardinals used their tight ends in versatile ways, too, lining them up at fullback, or motioning them into the formation before having them act as pulling blockers in the run game. Running counter with an offensive lineman and a tight end being the pullers was common in Arizona.
This is the kind of approach that could benefit Spann-Ford enormously in his second year in Dallas. Not only would using 12 and 13 personnel would naturally mean more playing time for him, it would mean a chance to display what’s his best at: Run blocking.
When signed as a UDFA rookie last year, it became clear run blocking was the biggest trait the Cowboys were betting on. Spann-Ford was nasty in college and he showed some of that grit in training camp and the preseason before earning a spot on the 53-man roster.
While Spann-Ford did a good job answering questions about his pass-catching skills as a rookie, he’s still a better blocker than receiver. That could be more than fine on an offense that asks its tight ends to be a factor in the run game. With enough depth at TE and more potentially coming this offseason, you can expect an intense battle in Oxnard, California next summer. Spann-Ford might already have an edge thanks to his blocking profile.