(Editor's Note: With the Dallas Cowboys heading into the April 25-26 NFL Draft with 11 picks, DallasCowboys.com's 12-part Draft Series will break down the Cowboys position by position, analyzing what they have at the particular position, what their needs are and just who might be available, along with including some interesting draft nuggets. Part nine will feature tight end.)

IRVING, Texas - Tight end wasn't a high draft priority for the Cowboys last year, either. Or so we thought.

Not until the Cowboys sent their 2006 second-round pick, Anthony Fasano, and linebacker Akin Ayodele to the Dolphins on draft eve. Hours later they replaced Fasano with Texas A&M's Martellus Bennett in the second round.

The Cowboys haven't hesitated to draft a tight end on Day One this decade. Jason Witten (2003), Fasano and Bennett all were selected on Draft Saturday, the latter two taken when the club appeared to be relatively stable at the position.

The Cowboys have bigger needs this year with Witten and Bennett entrenched on the depth chart. But with 11 total picks, don't rule out a tight end landing somewhere in their 2009 class, particularly if a prospect happens to be ranked highest on their board at the time. History suggests it's possible.

What They Have: Arguably the NFL's most complete tight end, for starters. Witten and Jay Novacek are the only tight ends in franchise history to reach five Pro Bowls. With 81 catches in an injury-plagued 2008 season, he became only the fifth tight end in league history with five consecutive seasons of 60-plus catches. He's tough, talented and versatile and quickly becoming the standard at his position.

Bennett has a mile-high ceiling. He got a better grasp of his responsibilities as the year went on and took advantage of his opportunities in two- and three-tight end sets, finishing his rookie season with 20 catches and four touchdowns. He also averaged an impressive 14.2 yards per reception and showed receiver-like speed after the catch.

Bennett's maturity was questioned throughout the preseason (with some help from the "Hard Knocks" cameras) and the subject resurfaced in January when the Cowboys fined him a game check for making a profanity-laced rap video on YouTube. But he's a good kid who improved his blocking as a rookie and could become a real pass-catching threat with more reps.

The Cowboys chose not to tender restricted free agent Tony Curtis, the third tight end last year. They seem to like the potential of exclusive rights free agent Rodney Hannah, who spent all but the season's final week on the practice squad and should compete for Curtis' old job in camp.

What They Need: A third tight end that's preferably versatile but primarily able to block well on the line and in the backfield. Curtis did an adequate job but the team apparently decided to go in a different direction.

Hannah, an extremely athletic prospect at 6-6, might be Curtis' future replacement. But he's still gaining polish and has yet to be active for a game in his career.

Who's Out There: This isn't an exceptionally deep tight end class. Oklahoma State's Brandon Pettigrew is the only player likely to be taken in the first round, but there are several prospects with second- and third-round grades.

Missouri's Chase Coffman (6-5, 244) is a huge target with great hands and field awareness. Florida's Cornelius Ingram is another talented receiver, and South Carolina's Jared Cook might be the position's biggest sleeper because of his freakish athleticism.

Potential middle-round selections are Wisconsin's Travis Beckum, who broke his fibula last season but still managed 23 catches in six games; Virginia's John Phillips, a former team captain who had 48 catches last year; and Fresno State's Bear Pascoe, a solid blocker in the running game.

North Carolina State's Anthony Hill was among the prospects invited to Valley Ranch for pre-draft visits this week. He's dealt with knee and chest injuries the last two seasons but performed well at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine.

Draft Nuggets: Coffman's father, Paul, played for the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs from 1978-87 . . . Southern Mississippi's Shawn Nelson, a potential second-round pick, is the cousin of Chiefs defensive end and former LSU standout Glenn Dorsey . . . "Bear" Pascoe, whose first name is McKenna, is an experienced rodeo roper.

Look Back: Bill Parcells' first draft with the Cowboys came with high expectations given the new coach's reputation as a slick talent surveyor. The results were impressive. The 2003 draft and subsequent free-agent crop netted four current starters: cornerback Terence Newman (first round), linebacker Bradie James (fourth round), quarterback Tony Romo (free agent) and Witten, then a 20-year-old who left Tennessee after his junior season. He's since lived up to his third-round billing with five Pro Bowls, 429 catches and 25 touchdowns in six seasons.

Up Next: Wide Receiver

Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS