After the Dallas Cowboys selected center Travis Frederick in the first round, it’s hard to call their second-round selection of tight end Gavin Escobar shocking.  After all, I had him rated as my second best tight end behind Tyler Eifert with a late first-round grade, so he definitely wasn’t a reach at No. 15 in the second.  But some fans and analysts were still shocked that the Cowboys would select a tight end when they had more pressing needs, and obviously Jason Witten on the roster.  I guess you can say that I was a bit taken aback as well, but at the same time; I love this pick.  Dallas adds another weapon to help Tony Romo and has an injury replacement and future permanent replacement for Witten.  But with Witten still in the mix, what will that mean for Escobar’s fantasy numbers this year? Let’s find out.

Escobar is a big and athletic former high school basketball star, which is evident in his play. At 6' and pounds, Escobar uses his length and sturdy build to box out defenders and always gain the better position. He also uses his big, sure hands to bring in the ball from all over and will never use his body to make a catch. While he's not the fastest tight end out there, he's quite agile and quick for his size, and his long legs/strides allowing him to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time and rack up yards after the catch.

Despite the plethora of talent and ability that Escobar brings to the Cowboys' offense, there's a couple things currently holding him back: His lack of run-blocking ability and Witten. Witten happens to be Romo's favorite target, a good run blocker and a focal point of the Cowboys' scheme.  Yes the Cowboys have already said they will feature more two tight end sets moving forward, but as long as Witten is healthy and playing at a high level; it will be very hard for Escobar to put up impactful fantasy numbers.

Headed into the 2013 fantasy football season, it would be in your best interest to steer clear of Escobar in redraft leagues. There's plenty of other tight ends that will put up much better numbers next year. It's okay to look at him as a third/emergency tight end, but definitely shouldn't be counted on as a TE1 or TE2.

As far as dynasty leagues are concerned; don't count on Escobar this year, like I stated above. But definitely pick him up in your rookie draft or the latter part of your startup draft for the future. By 2015, Escobar will be a huge part of the Cowboys' offense and will be worthy of a TE1 spot by then.

2013 Stat Projections: 25 receptions, 245 yards, 13.8 YPR and three touchdowns.