Cowboys' Dalton Schultz an 'undervalued' fantasy football TE on franchise tag?

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is seemingly healthy and, in the eyes of some, on the verge of producing possibly the best season, to date, of his NFL career. 

However, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for the Dallas offense since the home playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January. 

The Cowboys shipped star wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns this past March, chose to not replace him with a big-name option and then lost receiver James Washington to a Jones fracture in his foot earlier this month. Meanwhile, tight end Dalton Schultz was routinely in headlines this past spring and early summer regarding his desire for a long-term contract extension. 

Schultz will play on the franchise tender worth $10.931 million this fall as he looks to secure a lucrative deal either from the Cowboys or a different club. For a piece published Friday, KC Joyner of The Athletic explained why the 26-year-old who is in a contract year is an "undervalued" tight end in fantasy football drafts ahead of Week 1 of the regular season. 

"Schultz skyrocketed to the No. 3 spot in tight end scoring last year due in part to his superb red zone production," Joyner noted. "He caught nine of 14 targets in that area of the field and found the end zone on six of those aerials (per Pro Football Reference). Schultz was especially productive inside the 10-yard line, as he was one of only 14 players to tally at least five touchdowns in that area and was one of only five tight ends to do it.

"That type of performance might seem like a prime candidate for a drop-off, but the Cowboys vacated 41 red-zone targets due to offseason personnel changes. CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup may pick up some of the slack there, but Lamb and Gallup combined for only six red zone receptions and four touchdowns in 25 combined games played last year, so their track record here is nowhere near as strong as Schultz’s."

Per ESPN stats, Schultz finished the 2021 regular season tied with Cooper for the team lead with eight receiving touchdowns. The tight end also contributed 78 catches for 808 yards. As Joyner pointed out, Schultz could be an absolute steal if he's still on your fantasy-football draft boards in the sixth round.