Jason Witten is one in a long line of great Dallas Cowboys' tight ends, following the footsteps of Mike Ditka, Billy Joe Dupree, Doug Cosbie and Jay Novacek. He is also on his way to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the NFL but his problem is that the man he is chasing is still playing.
Witten has 696 receptions for 7,909 yards and 41 touchdowns over his nine seasons in the NFL. Tony Gonzalez has 1,149 receptions for 13,338 yards and 95 touchdowns over his 15 year career and is coming back for a 16th season. If Witten continues at the same pace he has, he will have more receptions than Gonzalez by his 15th season but less yards and a lot less touchdowns.
Let's just assume right now that, unless Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham have long careers and keep playing like they are, it will be hard for anyone to match the numbers of Tony Gonzalez.
However, Witten is dominating the Dallas record books.
Doug Cosbie played one more game over his career than Witten has and the half the yards and 11 less touchdowns than Witten. Billy Joe Dupree played 16 more games than Witten, has half the yards and the two are equal on touchdown receptions at this moment. Jay Novacek played one less game than Dupree but only had 4,630 yards and 30 touchdowns. After he catches one touchdown in 2011, Witten will hold every Dallas Cowboys' tight end record.
Even more impressive is the wide receiver stats. Tony Hill has 7,988 yards and Michael Irvin has 11,904 yards receiving. Early in 2012, Witten will pass Hill for second place in receiving yards in Dallas Cowboys' history. If he keeps up his pace, he could become the Dallas Cowboys' all-time receiver in his 13th NFL season.
Can Witten do it? Look at Tony Gonzalez, who is entering his 16th season. Witten keeps himself in tremendous shape and can probably continue playing as long as he wants. He is only 29, so he would be 33 or 34 when he passes Irvin's mark. Looking at the Cowboys' receivers over their history, who would have thought a tight end could break the all-time receiving yards record?
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
