Despite posting impressive testing metrics at the Scouting Combine, Dallas Cowboys tight end Michael Trigg did not hear his name called at the 2026 NFL Draft. The 23-year-old was productive in his final collegiate season at Baylor, recording 50 catches for 694 yards and six touchdowns across 11 games. However, he faces an uphill battle for a roster spot in Dallas. Cowboys tight ends Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, and Brevyn Spann-Ford are all likely assured of roster spots, leaving Trigg fighting for the TE4 role with Princeton Fant and DJ Rogers. If Trigg can catch on in Dallas, his athleticism provides him with some long-term upside for dynasty managers. Still, the Cowboys' crowded tight end depth chart may make it difficult for Trigg to earn fantasy-relevant playing time at any point in the foreseeable future. RotoBaller currently ranks Trigg as the 42nd-best tight end in dynasty formats
The Dallas Cowboys do not have a starter problem at the tight end position. Jake Ferguson solved that a while back, and the franchise confirmed it when it gave him a four-year extension during training camp last year. Ferguson is now locked in as one of Dak Prescott ’s trusted targets and is coming off a 2025 season in where he posted 82 catches, 600 yards, and eight touchdowns before being added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster. The more interesting question is what happens behind him. For years, the Cowboys have talked themselves into the idea that Luke Schoonmaker would eventually become the clear second tight end. That was the expectation after Dallas used a second-round pick on him in 2023. He had the size, testing profile, Michigan pedigree, and blocking background to become a useful complement to Ferguson. Three years later, though, the battle is much more open than the draft investment would suggest. Schoonmaker is still very much in the mix. The current Cowboys depth chart lists him behind Ferguson, ahead of Brevyn Spann-Ford, Princeton Fant, Michael Trigg, and D.J. Rogers. That is not meaningless. Coaches tend to trust players who know the system, and Schoonmaker has been in the building long enough to understand the details of the offense. But the production has not matched the investment. Schoonmaker finished 2025 with just 14 catches for 132 yards, while Spann-Ford caught nine of 13 targets for 90 yards and his first career touchdown. Neither player dominated the passing game, but Spann-Ford did more with less, and that matters when projecting who can force his way into a bigger role. The case for Schoonmaker is still easy to make. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so there is a clear financial incentive for him to have the best season of his career, and we’ve all seen what players suddenly do in a contract year. He has also said he feels fully healthy this offseason for the first time as a pro, after dealing with foot surgery, shoulder surgery, and other soft-tissue issues earlier in his career. If he can become more than a short-area safety valve and actually threaten the seam, Dallas suddenly has a different answer in 12 man personnel. Ferguson is already the chain-mover. George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb will command attention outside. A tight end who can get behind linebackers would give Brian Schottenheimer another way to attack defenses that want to sit on underneath routes. The issue is that projection has been doing a lot of the work with Schoonmaker. At some point, a former second-round pick has to become more than a theoretical playmaker. The Cowboys do not need TE2 to be a star, but they do need that player to have a defined weekly function. Right now, Spann-Ford’s role feels clearer. Spann-Ford gives Dallas size, physicality, and a more natural fit as the second tight end in heavier personnel. With his size he brings a different body type to the room. He can function attached to the line, help in the run game, and still present enough of a receiving target over the middle to punish smaller defenders. Last offseason, we saw how the offense used Spann-Ford’s size as a mismatch tool, and this is the key difference. Schoonmaker’s argument is based on what he could still become. Spann-Ford’s argument is based on what he already does well. Schoonmaker can still win it if he finally becomes the downfield threat the Cowboys have been waiting on. He has the athletic profile, the draft pedigree, and the contract-year motivation. A strong training camp would make it easy for the coaching staff to keep him in the role they always envisioned for him. But the prediction here is Spann-Ford. The likely Week 1 projection is Ferguson as TE1, Spann-Ford as TE2, Schoonmaker as TE3, and Trigg either making the roster as a developmental receiving option or landing on the practice squad if Dallas only keeps three traditional tight ends. Princeton Fant, Michael Trigg, and D.J. Rogers are fighting from dee
[... truncated ...]
It’s hard enough to find meaningful NFL work as an undrafted rookie, but DJ Rogers faces an even tougher challenge this year with the Cowboys. TE Michael Trigg is getting all of the attention now, meaning Rogers has to not only try to beat veteran talent for a job but also outshine his fellow UDFA this summer. Years in NFL: 0 Acquired by: UDFA (2026) Rogers spent five years at TCU, mostly in a backup role until leading all their tight ends in receiving stats last season as redshirt senior. But with the Horned Frogs’ offense not generally featuring TEs, Rogers’ career highs were still just 34 catches for 319 yards and two touchdowns. He entered the draft process without the numbers or nationwide recognition for high stock, though he did at least participate in the Senior Bowl. Even without much buzz, Rogers’ athleticism and raw ball-catching ability were enough to keep him in the draft conversation. Some even saw him as a potential late-round pick, but Rogers ultimately did not get selected. He would soon sign with Dallas as a free agent, though his arrival was mostly lost in Trigg’s shadow. Rogers will have to make some rapid improvements as a blocker and route technician, based on pre-draft scouting reports, if he’s going to be more than a camp body. Years Left: 3 2026 Cap Hit: $893k Like most UDFAs, Rogers got the standard 2-3 year deal for minimal money. He did get slightly less guaranteed money than Trigg, but not enough that would be a meaningful factor at final cuts. Role: Backup TE Roster Chance: 10% Again, this is going to be a tough group to crack. Even with his extra buzz, Trigg is still an underdog against the veteran trio of Jake Ferguson , Brevyn Spann-Ford , and Luke Schoonmaker . Dallas probaby isn’t going to keep four TEs so long as FB Hunter Luepke is around, so that’s just three seats when the music stops. Rogers’ future is heavy on hope at this point. Even if the Cowboys do cut bait on Schoonmaker, which is still very uncertain, he’d have to get through Trigg and Princeton Fant to take advantage. Fant’s been hanging around the team for three years as a practice squadder and occasional roster call-up, so he can’t be ignored. But again, it’s a moot point if Dallas decides to see things through on the final year of Schoonmaker’s contract. Rogers’ realistic goal should be to show enough upside that the team wants to keep developing him on the practice squad. That’s far from nothing: the Cowboys have routinely had former undrafted TEs move and grow into roster roles. Spann-Ford looks like he’ll be the primary backup this season, and we’ve seen the likes of Blake Jarwin , Sean McKeon , and Peyton Hendershot in the last few years. If there’s something worth mining out of a TE prospect, Dallas has a great coach in Lunda Wells to find it and maximize it. Whether it’s for his Cowboys future or maybe a shot with another team, DJ Rogers will be looking to pull some eyes his way in this year’s training camp. He can’t help the intrigue around Michael Trigg now, but he may be able to steal some of that spotlight in Oxnard and in the preseason. Check out our previous player profiles from this series: C Cooper Beebe G Tyler Booker S Alijah Clark EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku TE Jake Ferguson S Malik Hooker WR Jordan Hudson LB Shemar James G Trevor Keegan S P.J. Locke FB Hunter Luepke RB Phil Mafah QB Joe Milton III WR Jonathan Mingo CB Devin Moore LB DeMarvion Overshown LS Trent Sieg WR Anthony Smith OT Terence Steele CB Reddy Steward DT Jay Toia EDGE Tyrus Wheat EDGE Sam Williams
Almost a month after the draft, you already know a lot of things about the Dallas Cowboys rookies. But no matter how much time you’ve spent observing the 2026 rookie class, there are still things you don’t know about them. Here are seven things you may not have known: The Cowboys have traditionally liked drafting college team captains, and this year is no different. Five of the seven draft picks were team captains in college. Caleb Downs , Malachi Lawrence, Drew Shelton, LT Overton , were all team captains in college, WR Anthony Smith was a game-day captain in his senior season. In the case of Downs and Overton, this is particularly noteworthy as it’s a rarity for a transfer player to be voted captain in college. The Rivals database , which records how players were ranked coming out of high school, shows the 2025 Cowboys with just four 5-star recruits on the roster – OT Tyler Booker , DE Jadeveon Clowney , DE Dante Fowler, and WR George Pickens – all of whom were added in 2025. Booker and Pickens remain on the roster, but the Cowboys gave themselves a big helping of former 5-star recruits in 2026: Three were added via free agency: DE Rashan Gary , DT Jonathan Bullard , CB Derion Kendrick Two more were added via the draft: S Caleb Downs and DT LT Overton were both 5-star recruits coming out of high school. In fact, the entire draft class was well thought of coming out of high school, including four UDFAs with a 4-star rating: body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important; } Round Player POS College Star Rating 1 Caleb Downs S Ohio State 5 1 Malachi Lawrence DE UCF 3 3 Jaishawn Barham OLB Michigan 4 4 Drew Shelton T Penn State 4 4 Devin Moore CB Florida 4 4 LT Overton DT Alabama 5 7 Anthony Smith WR East Carolina 3 UDFA Michael Trigg TE Baylor 4 UDFA DJ Rogers TE TCU 4 UDFA Jordan Hudson WR SMU 4 UDFA Kelvin Gilliam DT Virginia Tech 4 It’s still early in the process, and the Cowboys still have to whittle down their roster from the current 90 players, but compared to the 74 players (returning players + reserve/future + RFA + ERFA +UFA) they had prior to the start of free agency in March, the Cowboys increased their number of 4-and 5-star recruits from 28 to 36. That’s something. And the veterans are noticing it too. Jake Ferguson recently said “this is the best talent he’s seen in the Cowboys’ tight end room.” One of the draft assumptions frequently made about the Cowboys is their supposed preference for Senior Bowl players, but that may be an out-of-date assumption. The Cowboys did draft six seniors with their seven picks (only Caleb Downs is a junior), but only LT Overton participated in the Senior Bowl. Caleb Downs (1st) and Malachi Lawrence (1st) were on the pre-draft visitor list, and we found out during the draft that Jaishawn Barham (3rd) had been a visitor as well. Outside of that, UDFA DT Tommy Dunn was the only other player who came in for a visit, and he was brought in for Dallas Day. It’s not much, and we’re still waiting for somebody to inadvertently leak at least part of the board. But barring that, here’s what we know. Per David Moore , Caleb Downs was the fourth player on the Cowboys board. David Bailey, Arvell Reese, and Jeremiyah Love were the only players ahead of him. Bailey was the only other player the Cowboys would have been tempted to move up for. Prior to the fourth round, where the Cowboys had three picks, Cowboys director of college scouting Mitch LaPoint said the team still had eight players left on their board with third-round grades . No word yet on whether any of their picks carried a third-round grade. In early January, Stephen Jones mentioned the Cowboys “wanted to focus more on power 5 schools” and explained that NIL was driving small-school talent to larger schools. And true to their word, th
[... truncated ...]
