Dallas City News

With all of the attention the Cowboys scheme change on defense going from Dan Quinn to Mike Zimmer is drawing at training camp, one of the most under-the-radar storylines is that they are still only in year two of a new offensive scheme called by head coach Mike McCarthy. There is still a lot of room for this offense to expand on the looks that were successful a season ago, as well as add entirely new ones that can only make this team harder to prepare against – something they desperately need in search of capitalizing on regular-season success to play their best in the postseason. It takes new faces in the lineup proving they’re ready to make plays to bring these developments into gamedays, and that is exactly what second year TE Princeton Fant is helping Dallas do by catching the eye of the team’s offensive play caller early in the padded practices underway from Oxnard.

Fant being an early standout at tight end is yet another example of a theme developing in Oxnard that we’ve covered extensively – players with any level of past experience with the team showing they’ve taken a step up and holding their spots over less experienced players. Fant’s experience is as minimal as it gets, only appearing in two games on special teams as an undrafted rookie, but the practice squad member from Tennessee is seizing the opportunity to see the field a lot more in year two.

The Cowboys were at their best offensively in 2023 with heavy receiver personnel, never looking as comfortable in packages that called on multiple tight ends or running backs. With the groundwork for these plays already in place though, the Cowboys are hardly abandoning these looks, instead using this time in Oxnard to test new personnel that can execute more physical packages that complement what the offense does best. Fant is a big potential target at 6’2” and 235 pounds, moving well for his size with an understanding of the soft spots in a defense.

This is a player with strong hands that can secure the ball in traffic and make plays after the catch, and is more than a willing blocker at the point of attack using his long arms to keep defenders at bay.

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The chance for Fant to potentially climb as high as a surprise TE2 on the depth chart comes from another second-year player with much more draft pedigree simply not being able to stay on the field. Last year’s second-round pick, Luke Schoonmaker, left Friday’s padded practice with a groin issue, and lack of availability is quickly becoming his biggest issue as Schoonmaker has dealt with different injury setbacks ever since arriving in Dallas. Catching just eight passes in his first season, the absolute barebones makings of a dual threat approach at TE with Jake Ferguson leading the way was seen at times in McCarthy’s offense, but the team will need a consistent threat to rely even more on this dynamic moving forward. Where Schoonmaker’s route tree consisted almost entirely of flat routes, designed rollouts, or checkdowns, Fant is capable of doing all of the same while presenting a favorable target to his QB while also being a sneaky downfield threat.

Fant’s spot anywhere in the tight end pecking order is hardly set in stone as the Cowboys are still bringing along fellow UDFA John Stephens Jr. in his second year with the team, as well as third-year undrafted man Peyton Hendershot. Dallas has certainly made a commitment to continue developing players they haven’t put a lot of draft capital in at tight end in search of a gem, and now have as open of a competition behind the number one as any team around the league. Adding undrafted names here didn’t stop this offseason, as even Minnesota’s Breyvn Spann-Ford arrives in Oxnard for the first time with some buzz about what he can do as a big blocker to help the run game open more holes.

Having a rising star in Ferguson at the top of the depth chart adds a lot of stability and comfort to a position group that otherwise has many more questions than answers right now, giving the Cowboys time to tap into the potential of players like Fant. Fant being one of just two offensive players called out specifically by McCarthy at the end of one week’s worth of padded practices is noteworthy, as the team will continue using training camp and preseason games to give these types of players further down the depth chart every opportunity to show their skills.