Road to TE1: Jake Ferguson

Jake Ferguson was expected to have a breakout season in 2023 and delivered with a career year in his first full season as the starting tight end in Dallas. His 761 receiving yards were second on the team behind CeeDee Lamb, leading to a TE9 finish in both standard leagues for fantasy managers.

In the absence of former starter Dalton Schultz, Ferguson was one of just seven tight ends to warrant over 100 targets in 2023. More impressively, Ferguson's 24 red zone looks were the most in the league at his position. However, the 25-year-old could only convert those opportunities to a modest five touchdowns.

In his second full season as the starter, Ferguson will only have the potential to increase his role. Barring an injury, he will not overtake Lamb as the No. 1 option but Brandin Cooks will turn 31 in September who posed the only legitimate threat to his workload. The fourth and fifth-leading receivers in 2023 — Michael Gallup and Tony Pollard — both moved on from the team in the offseason with Dallas not doing much to replace their production.

How Jake Ferguson can become the overall TE1 in 2024

Under new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, Dak Prescott attempted the fourth-most passes in 2023 with 590. That usage translated to 4,516 yards, the third most in the league.

The potential for Prescott to throw even more in 2024 will be there without a reliable running game as 29-year-old sluggish veteran Ezekiel Elliott is expected to begin the year as the starter. With that volume being pushed out in the passing game, Ferguson has a clear path to topping 1,000 yards in his third season with Michael Gallup's retirement bolstering his projected development.

Of all the young tight ends in the league, Ferguson has the highest potential to take a leap with the opportunity already being there for him in 2023. In his 24 red zone targets, Ferguson caught just 12 of them and converted just five into touchdowns. He did not score from outside of the red zone either, making it crucial he improve on his efficiency.

But regardless of the points left on the table for Ferguson last season, there should only be more chances on the horizon. The 6-foot-5 athlete has clearly earned the trust of Prescott as the lead short-yardage target and while CeeDee Lamb will still be the alpha, Tony Pollard will leave a lot of his red zone usage behind with Ferguson being the primary beneficiary.

As he continues to get more comfortable in his role, the path to becoming a dominant fantasy tight end for the better part of the next decade is wide open for Ferguson. The window to get in on the ground floor of the Ferguson hype train may shut as soon as Week 1.