Rico Gathers Says He's the 'Heir Apparent' to Jason Witten for Cowboys

Rico Gathers believes he is the future tight end for the Dallas Cowboys with Jason Witten entering his 15th season for the team.

"I just feel like this year is the year that I really come out and take over and show that Rico Gathers is the heir apparent to Jason Witten," Gathers told Will Chambers and Jean-Jacques Taylor of 103.3 ESPN Dallas on March 24. "That’s just how I feel."

Gathers was a sixth-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2016 NFL draft and spent last season on the practice squad. He played basketball at Baylor but the Cowboys—perhaps seduced by the growing trend of turning former basketball players into tight ends after the success of players like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas, Martellus Bennett and Jimmy Graham—took a chance on him.

And Gathers believes the Cowboys will be rewarded for doing so.

"I feel like this could be my breakout year and I can really contribute to this offense in the right situation," he said. "When I first jumped out there and let people know I wanted to play football, it was all a thought, but a thought without work is just a thought. Once I started working on my craft as a football player, that’s when everything started coming together."

He added, "I feel like I’ve come into my own over the past year with my development from blocking to route running to making those athletic plays that you see on Sunday."

There is certainly an opening behind Witten on the depth chart. Neither James Hanna nor Geoff Swaim is the future at the position for Dallas, so Gathers will have the opportunity to earn playing time in 2017. The Cowboys appeared to have big plans for Gathers as well after signing him to a rookie salary of $449,990 rather than the standard $117,300 salary for practice-squad players.

And Gathers doesn't envision himself spending another year on the practice squad.

"I see them trying to bring me up," he noted, "so I can truly show my potential that I showed all year long on the practice squad, when I created a lot of problems for our defense."