Blake Jarwin Will Breakout In 2021
With Jason Witten out of the picture, Blake Jarwin was poised for a breakout heading into 2020. He even signed a big contract extension before the season. But just 25 snaps into the first game, the wrath of the year 2020 took him out with a season-ending ACL tear. Instead, it was Dalton Schultz playing the TE1 role in Dallas. Schultz ran the third most routes of any tight end and finished with over 60 receptions and more than 600 yards. He was TE18 on the year in PPR fantasy points per game and his 89 targets were the ninth most at the position.
A healthy Jarwin is a far superior pass catcher than his 2020 fill-in, so he’ll be able to extend those numbers further with similar opportunity. He is one of the more athletic tight ends in the league with above average speed and burst. Playing behind Witten in 2019, Jarwin was top-12 in Yards Per Reception, No.6 in Yards Per Target, and No.8 in Target Premium. He was also eighth with 2.37 yards per route and top-five in Fantasy Points Per Route (PlayerProfiler).
See Where Blake Jarwin Lands In Our Dynasty Rankings!
The Cowboys are getting back quarterback Dak Prescott which will only help propel all Dallas pass-catchers further. Prescott had the offense on a historic pace before he went down. They averaged 395 yards (less than 200 with Andy Dalton) and nearly 36 points per game in his five starts. Both the offense and Prescott himself were operating at an elite level of efficiency, scoring 2.64 points per possession (PlayerProfiler.com). They project to be one of the highest pass volume teams in the league again and they garner one of the easiest pass schedules in 2021. With how poor their defense is, and how explosive some of their opponents’ offenses are, the Cowboys will find themselves in numerous shootouts like we saw in early 2020.
While there are certainly many “mouths to feed” in Dallas, Jarwin will see enough volume to propel his breakout season. Remember, even Schultz saw almost 90 targets last year in a less efficient offense. Jarwin is effective after the catch and presents an explosive element in the middle of the field. He is bound to see a number of red zone opportunities given his size and how often the offense will be inside the 20. Everything lines up for Jarwin to be a top-12 TE. He may have a couple quiet outings given the other options in the offense, but he will be a top-5 scorer on multiple occasions. Jarwin is still easily accessible in both dynasty and seasonal leagues. But get him now because he is sure to receive plenty of hype once people see him back on the field when training camp begins.
