Witten should be a not-too-tight tight end

By Anthony Bialy  |   Thursday, May 22, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Dallas Cowboys
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The answer to questions about Dallas’ wide receivers is that the team owns the rights to Jason Witten. Some may still feel baffled that the Cowboys didn’t draft a wideout at all last month, much less on Saturday, but it’s important to remember that the exceptionally able Witten has already emerged as Tony Romo’s most indispensable option.

In truth, he is good enough as a pass recipient that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett should disregard the word “tight” in the player’s title and instead loosen him up, using him as a de facto third receiver for no other reason than to combat worries about age, injury, or inexperience from slowing this passing offense.

Witten’s most productive future would be one where he serves the same role as a less productive but still valuable tight end who plays in a similarly fantastically overpowering offense: He should be lined up like Indianapolis’ Dallas Clark often is, namely deployed as a slot receiver. A talented catcher himself, Clark hauled in 58 passes for 616 yards last season, averaging 10.6 yards per reception; those numbers look impressive for virtually any tight end except by comparison to Witten’s phenomenal 96 catches for 1,145 yards and 11.9-yard average in 2007.

Employing Clark primarily as a receiving weapon was a virtually necessary innovation, as Marvin Harrison’s nagging injury meant that Peyton Manning had a dearth of targets at which to aim. Instead of using a speedster as a third guy, Indianapolis went the other way and lined up a bigger man who happens to be able to pancake defenders with his sturdy hands.

In a similar manner, Witten could alleviate pressure on the wideouts if he were to be consistently used as a type of hybrid receiver himself. Spacing him away from the linemen will create a distraction that will be despised by pass defenders and simultaneously welcomed by Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, and Terry Glenn. The tradeoff of not having him align shoulder to shoulder with the right tackle would be a huge benefit a little bit further down the line of scrimmage. Besides, who says the Cowboys can’t send a second tight end out there in lieu of a fullback?

Martellus Bennett’s drafting means the team could consistently operate from a two-end set where the rookie could line up traditionally while Witten is scattered wide. It would create dreadful headaches over matchups for defenses: While Bennett might start his NFL life primarily as a blocker, he also excelled as a receiver at Texas A&M, so covering both players is going to end up being a miserably tricky proposition for opposing coordinators.

Utilizing Witten as more of a third receiver than a sixth lineman would play to strengths: Although he’s a decent blocker, the fact is that the Tennessee product has emerged as a phenomenal weapon in the passing game. Besides, the 6-foot-5, 266-pound Witten is by definition a better blocker than any possession-style receiver who might be otherwise used in formations no matter how physical the theoretical player might be.

On top of that, Witten is a better overall receiver than the third-best guy on any other NFL roster. The key to getting the most out of one of the game’s premier tight ends is to not really line him up as a tight end.
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