While NFL mandatory minicamps and organized team activities in the offseason don’t mean as much toward potential position battles as it used to, there are still little nuggets that are worth digesting coming out of teams’ offseason programs.
A shift from the more physical practices 15 to 20 years ago, the Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 offseason program featured a lot of instruction and implementation with new playcallers on both sides of the ball and multiple new faces.
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However, one of the returning faces has turned heads during the offseason program despite the decreased physicality, as second-year tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford could be in line for an increased role in 2025.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota after the 2024 draft, Spann-Ford made the initial 53-man roster and remained on the active gameday roster throughout the season. While he was used mainly as a point-of-attack blocker at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds, Spann-Ford was used in multiple receiving opportunities with the first-team and second-team units during the offseason on-field work.
“He had an incredible off-season,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “He really did. The size alone, he moves really well. I think he added six or seven pounds of lean muscle mass. This guy is just not a run blocker and a pass protector. This guy can be a weapon because of his size in the middle of the field, matched up on linebackers and safeties.”
In his rookie season, Spann-Ford hauled in just nine receptions for 88 yards, but his role alongside starting tight end Jake Ferguson could grow if he finds himself above 2023 second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker on the depth chart.
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“The thing I loved about Brev from day one is you knew that this wasn’t too big for him,” Schottenheimer said. “You knew mentally that he knew, ‘I belong here. It doesn’t matter how I got here, I belong here.’ And he’s pushing [Jake Ferguson] and [Luke Schoonmaker] and all those guys. He’s already made the jump.”
“The dude’s got a great work ethic,” Jake Ferguson said. “We come in here and hit arms and abs every Saturday. He pushes me, I push him. He’s always had it. It’s about fine tuning the details. He’s always been a great athlete.”
In the five full practice media availabilities for the Cowboys this offseason, Spann-Ford was the only tight end or receiver to haul in a reception in each session. When the team arrives in Oxnard, California, for training camp in late July, expect Spann-Ford to be competing for a prominent role in the offense with his unique size and quickly improving pass-catching ability.
“It’s going to be a really fun battle for you guys and for us as coaches to watch how the tight ends play out during training camp,” Schottenheimer said.