Dalton Schultz is staying in the state of Texas, but he’ll be wearing the red, white and blue of the Houston Texans. The former Cowboy agreed to a one-year, $9 million contract with the team and will likely move ahead of Brevin Jordan and Teagan Quitoriano on the depth chart. Unfortunately, playing in Houston won’t help his fantasy draft appeal.
Schultz scored 142.7 points and ranked 10th in fantasy points among tight ends in 2022. That was more than 60 fewer points than he had in his breakout campaign of 2021, but Schultz was still a productive fantasy option. In fact, he put up double digits in five of his final 10 games and helped plenty of fantasy fans win a championship with a seven-catch, 57-yard, two-touchdown game in Week 17.
• Fantasy Impact: Adam Thielen | Brandin Cooks | Mike Gesicki | Jamaal Williams | Miles Sanders | JuJu Smith-Schuster | Baker Mayfield | David Montgomery | Allen Lazard | Rashaad Penny | Darren Waller | Jakobi Meyers | Jimmy Garoppolo | Derek Carr
Now in Houston, Schultz could become a popular safety net for their eventual No. 1 quarterback, which is likely to be either Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. Regardless, both the offense and field general will be a downgrade.
Tight end is a thin position in fantasy land, however, so Schultz could find himself being picked as a low-end starter in deeper leagues. If nothing else, he should see volume in an offense that currently lacks a true No. 1 threat in the passing game.
In Dallas, the Cowboys will likely go with the duo of Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot in Schultz’s absence. Neither will be worth more than a late-round draft flier, though. Dallas could also draft a pass-catching tight end like Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid or Oregon State’s Luke Musgrove.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late-breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business to help you win a fantasy championship!
