How the Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson evolved from a seldom-used rookie TE to Dak Prescott’s No. 2 target in 2023

FRISCO, Texas — While the Dallas Cowboys envisioned veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks being their No. 2 pass-catcher after acquiring him in an offseason trade with the Houston Texans, quarterback Dak Prescott’s actual No. 2 target behind All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb is second-year tight end Jake Ferguson, a 2022 fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin. His 32 catches and 328 receiving yards both rank as the second-most on the team, while his three receiving touchdowns are tied for the most alongside Lamb. 

“Fergie is playing at an elite level,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said Monday. “He had a big fourth-down conversion for us on the under route (against the Eagles). Obviously, the touchdown is amazing, but you talk about a guy that plays the game the right way. I don’t know how much shit he talks, but he definitely talks shit. He has fun. He is passionate about what he is doing. … To see him from the start of the offseason to where he is now, I wouldn’t say surprises me, but he is playing at an elite level. I think he’s just scratching the surface.”

Ferguson totaled a career-high 91 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches — tied for his career-high — in the Cowboys’ narrow 28-23 defeat at the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9. 

“[Ferguson] is the lead dog in the (tight end position) room,” McCarthy said Monday. “I love his passion and aggression that he plays with. Dalton (Schultz) was an extremely productive player here the last two years, and now [Ferguson] being the guy in the room, to play that many reps is where he needs to continue to grow because there is a conditioning that goes with the physical, mental and emotional. I think he does a really good job, and I know Dak and him have a very strong connection.”

That connection flashed during a streak of 19 consecutive completions from Prescott to Ferguson earlier this season. 

“I think we’re making the right strides for sure,” Ferguson said. “Especially where I want to go. I think definitely taking the right steps, but there’s definitely a lot more work to be done. A lot more things will happen. I think the two balls that I dropped (against the Eagles) were definitely catchable, and that’s something that I focus on and after the game, we talk about. He’s like ‘Hey, I don’t know about that beeline.’ I go, ‘No, no I love it. Keep throwing those. I love that ball.’ I just have to come down with it and essentially not shy away from the hit. I think taking the right strides for sure and definitely more work to be done.”

Just less than halfway through the 2023 campaign. Ferguson has already smashed all of his totals in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns from his rookie year. He credits his breakout with increased communication with Prescott now that he is the “lead dog” tight end. 

“It’s crucial whether it’s texting after practice, in the meeting room, whatever it may be,” Ferguson said of his two-way feedback conversations with Prescott. “If you’re correcting it, then you’re on the right track. … One mistake happens, we try to attack it head on and talk to each other, talk it out. When the next time does come, it’s not even a question. … It’s a little more vocal this year. Last year, I was just trying to get my feet under me at the beginning of the season and then towards the end, just put my head down and work. I can really make an impact and some big things on offense. I just have to be there every single time. So when Dak says, ‘I’m throwing it to Ferg,’ he has the ultimate confidence that I’m coming out with it.”

His quarterback agreed that regular dialogue between himself and his pass-catchers is critical when it comes to finding success in the passing game. Prescott credits his developed relationship with Lamb as one of the biggest reasons for his breakout since Week 6. 

[Communicating off the field] is going to develop with age, but when I came in as a rookie, I knew I had to be on the same page with guys being thrown into the mix,” Prescott said Thursday. “You have to be able to communicate and communicate well to expedite that process of getting on the same page with guys. There’s no difference now with me being older. These young guys need to understand that and they have to communicate with me what they’re thinking and more importantly what I’m thinking because I’ve got to get you the ball and we’ve got to be on the same page there. So your off-field is huge. During games, if a play comes up, I don’t wait. I’m going to these guys now and talking about what they need to do because that play may come up in a very similar situation a few players within the next drive or later in the game. It’s always better when it’s fresh in your mind, especially with the guys that catch the ball.”

Following the Cowboys’ stunning 28-16 defeat at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, the only win for the 1-8 Cardinals this season, Ferguson made an increased, concerted effort to connect with Prescott in an effort to prevent an embarrassment like that one from happening again. 

Jake Ferguson 2023 statistics

“I think personally I was a little soft against Arizona, so I’ve kind of carried that the last couple weeks,” Ferguson said. “Just trying to not let anyone big brother us or anything like that. I take as many little, wrong things that I can to just try to make them better each week. I would say [the conversations with Prescott] started to be with more urgency (after the loss to the Cardinals). If we mess something up in practice or even a walkthrough just coming back and being like, ‘OK, hey what were we thinking on that? What were you thinking? What was I thinking?’ Let’s get on some mutual ground here and figure out when we do see that again, maybe when it is full speed in practice or, wherever it may be, let’s get it cleaned up. So when it does come to game time, there’s no question.

After the game, I just texted him like, ‘I’m with you big dawg, let’s get after it. We’re fine.’ We know we’re going to have to fight in every way possible. That just emphasized the fact of how much harder we’re going to have to fight every single week, every single day with whatever we’re doing. Whether we’re in this facility or not. We’re going to have to be doing something to get us on track where we can win those games and continue to win.”

Following the deflating 42-10 “Sunday Night Football” defeat at the San Francisco 49ers, Ferguson made sure to let Prescott know he will always have his back. 

“I texted him after the game and I’m like, ‘I’m with you til the wheels fall off,'” Ferguson said. “He’s in that leadership role, and it’s my job to follow him and run through a brick wall if he tells me to. It’s that kind of mindset going into this. It’s like, ‘Hey, I got your back, and you know it too.’ I’m just gonna do my best to keep getting open and keep getting work done, keep getting yards.”    

Those conversations are worth their weight in gold for Ferguson as he has seen his priority in the route progression pecking order continue to grow each week. He appeared to be Prescott’s No. 2 option right after Lamb on his 18-yard touchdown that got the scoring going in the Cowboys’ 43-20 Week 8 home win over the Los Angeles Rams. Prescott lofted the football just over the top of the linebackers Ferguson had just beaten off the line of scrimmage and into the end zone for the score.

“I think that kind of goes off Dak and I’s relations, what we’re trying to build and keep striving for, but it also goes back to our scheme and what Schotty and Coach McCarthy are kind of putting into our heads: ‘Hey this is the time clock in your heads when you’re running these routes. Or when you have this play, you’re maybe the two or the three read, so you have to get your depth and make sure you’re open at the 5.5-second mark, the 6.5-second mark,'” Ferguson said. “Knowing in your head, ‘Hey, this is when I have to be open on these certain plays.’ And that’s attributed back to our scheme, the knowledge and all the information they’re giving us to be successful in the pass game.”

Prescott and Ferguson’s football conversations over text almost never start with the topic of football but rather TikTok videos of actor and comedian Lester Green, who goes by Beetlejuice. He’s someone whose videos they “love” since they find him to be “the funniest dude ever” because of his boxing videos among others, according to Ferguson. 

“I send him funny videos every once in a while, we’ve got this guy (Beetlejuice) that we like watching, and I’ll send him a funny video and he’ll laugh,” Ferguson said. “Then, I’ll be like ‘Oh, yeah, on so and so, I might be open on this or whatever like that. It’s just the little things and I think that’s building to where we want to get to. It’s like, ‘I’m open but I don’t want to tell you I’m open.’ I like to warm him up and get him laughing a little bit and then I come in with my [recommendation]. … I’m not overly serious all the time. I like to have fun. At the same time, I know when it’s time to lock down and buckle down. Having that fine line is important.” 

Despite the growth put on tape by Ferguson through the first year-and-a-half of his NFL career, the 24-year-old tight end went out of his way to clarify he isn’t satisfied with where his level of play is right now and that his connection with Prescott could still be much improved. 

“I wouldn’t say we’re a lot better now,” Ferguson said. “We’re making the right strides. I still dropped two balls (at Philadelphia). Maybe the game ends up differently with those catches. I would just say we’re making the right strides to where we want go and there really is only one goal. Unless that goal (winning the Super Bowl) is achieved, I wouldn’t say we’ve made it yet.”