Rico Gathers

He's someone you need to keep an eye on throughout the preseason, as the Cowboys starting tight end position is wide open. He'll compete with a few rookies, making me believe he'll get the job after dominating last preseason. He gained almost 20 pounds this offseason to help with his blocking, but hopefully it doesn't take away from what he does best - catch the ball. With the lack of playmakers on the Cowboys, they need someone to step up and Gathers has it in him as a receiver.

Rico Gathers 'needs a lot of work'

When asked about young tight end Rico Gathers, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that he "has a lot of work to do."

Fantasy Impact

Garrett said that Gathers has done a good job improving over his time with the team, but the most impactful statement he said was, "He just needs to play more football. We could practice five times a day and that wouldn't be enough for him and a lot of our younger players, just because they need so much work." That doesn't sound like a coach who is going to give Gathers the starting job, but in the end, he might not have a choice. The Cowboys lack difference-makers at receiver and the only other tight end who can potentially make a difference is rookie Dalton Schultz, though Garrett did mention "young players" in his statement. We'd usually move-on from a tight end at this point, but given the lack of playmakers on the Cowboys offense, we're going to want to see how Gathers is used in the preseason and if he sees time with the starters. There is real upside with the former basketball player who went bananas last preseason before suffering a season-ending concussion.