Blake Jarwin is showing he’s more than just a body behind Jason Witten on the roster

It should be said that by all accounts Jason Witten has looked like a re-energized player throughout his time in Oxnard this summer.

I spent a week there myself and can personally attest to the fact that he looks like someone who will definitely help the Cowboys this season. That feels objectively true; however, it’s possible that Witten might no longer be the only tight end on the roster that can be a force. The Blake Jarwin hype is ramping up, friends.

Jarwin’s latest success came in San Francisco during the team’s first preseason contest against the 49ers. He finished the game with four catches for 51 yards including this fine piece of work.

It’s not like Saturday was the first sign of success that we’ve seen from Jarwin. He had the incredible exclamation point finish to the regular season in 2018, but his role was growing before that final game, well before Jason Witten’s return and the preseason game in San Fran.

Think back to the final quarter of last season (not including the playoffs). Jarwin was becoming more and more involved in the offense:

Blake Jarwin’s final four games of the 2018 regular season

• Week 14 vs. PHI: 7 targets, 7 receptions, 56 yards
• Week 15 at IND: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 45 yards
• Week 16 vs. TAM: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards
• Week 17 at NYG: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 119 yards, 3 touchdowns

Witten’s return complicates matters a bit since he’ll demand a piece of the overall pie, but Jarwin under Kellen Moore figures to be a highly productive tight end. Considering he had four catches for 51 yards in one half’s worth of work against the 49ers you have to imagine he’d do quite nicely with the amount of work he saw late last season.

Many tight ends have tried and failed to eat into Jason Witten’s snap counts over the years, but none of them was dealing with the future HOFer when he was coming off of a one-year retirement. Considering where Witten is at in his career and that Jarwin is an ascending player, and how much the Cowboys utilize tight ends, you have to believe that Jarwin is going to get enough chances to shine.