Geoff Swaim to Dallas Cowboys: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

After the Dallas Cowboys selected Laurence Gibson in the seventh round, everyone thought the Cowboys were done in the draft; however, they made a surprising move back into the seventh round where they selected Texas tight end Geoff Swaim. 

Swaim is a two-year player at Texas who transferred from Butte College in California. He played in 26 career games with 22 career starts where he recorded 13 career catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. 

Many of you may be wondering why team that doesn’t appear to have a need at tight end would draft a player with such abysmal production in two years of playing time. The reason Swain was drafted was because of his athleticism and inherent upside as a tight end. 

Swaim was the ninth most athletic tight end in this draft class, per 3SigmaAthlete.com's Zach Whitman. That athletic upside points to Swaim having upside as a receiver for the Cowboys. 

While he may have more upside as a receiver, Swaim was primarily used as an in-line blocker for Texas' heavy-run scheme. 

In fact, the NFL Network's Charles Davis stated that Swaim thrived as a blocker (h/t The Dallas Morning News' Jon Machota):

"

The blocking ability of Geoff Swaim, in line, what you would call the normal wide tight end, he can do a little bit of (pass catching) but that’s not his stock and trade folks. His stock and trade is knocking people off the  line of scrimmage, pulling and moving and leading people up into the hole, but he can do a little bit (pass catching).

"

When he was targeted in the passing game, Swaim showed natural hands and the ability to go up and make tough catches in traffic. 

The hardest part of Swaim's progression will be learning how to run routes and how to naturally separate from defenders when he is running his routes. This is the aspect of playing tight end that Jason Witten has mastered. He isn't very athletic, but he knows how to pace his routes, use head and body fakes to create separation from defenders who are much more athletic than he is. 

Swaim's only chance to make the roster is to become the fourth blocking tight end if the Cowboys don't keep a fullback on the roster. If not, Swaim will likely be delegated to the practice squad where he could develop his route running and hopefully develop into a more well-rounded tight end entering next year.