When tight ends are making headlines in July, something unusual is happening.
This time, the buzz centers on Pittsburgh’s Darnell Washington-a 6-foot-7, 264-pound tight end with limited NFL production but seemingly limitless intrigue-and the growing calls from Cowboys fans and some analysts to bring him to Dallas in a trade.
What sparked this? Probably a mix of dissatisfaction with Luke Schoonmaker and the NFL’s current tight end shuffle, which saw Jonnu Smith salary-dumped to the Steelers and Darren Waller un-retire into the Dolphins’ lap. When one fan base sees movement, others start dreaming.
A Tight End Trade… or Just Talk?
Media outlets like Bleacher Report and CBS Sports have tossed Washington’s name into the speculative trade ring. It’s not hard to see why-his frame alone makes him an outlier, and he’s just 23. But after two years in Pittsburgh, he has only 26 catches and one touchdown to his name.
Meanwhile, Schoonmaker-who was drafted before Washington in 2023-has 35 catches and three touchdowns, yet is being labeled a “bust” in some Cowboys circles. He’s reportedly been outperformed in minicamp by undrafted rookie Brevyn Spann-Ford, who is just as physically imposing at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds.
That has led some to wonder: if Spann-Ford is beating out Schoonmaker, and Washington can’t crack the top two in Pittsburgh, what exactly is being solved here?
The real story might be less about finding a hidden gem and more about frustration with the Cowboys’ TE depth chart. Jake Ferguson is still TE1, and despite a dip in production last season, he made the Pro Bowl in 2023 and remains one of Dak Prescott’s go-to options.
Prescott himself is looking for a bounce-back season, and the Prescott-Ferguson connection could be a bigger storyline than anything involving backup shuffling.
For now, the Cowboys’ best move might not be trading for someone else’s third-stringer-it might be giving their own depth chart a real chance to prove itself.
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