Player
Luke Schoonmaker
TE · Cowboys
Sets the baseline context for Schoonmaker's career arc — a TE drafted to complement Ferguson who has never escaped that shadow despite one breakout season.
3 NFL seasons, 38 regular-season games, 49 catches, 438 yards, 3 TDs — a permanent TE2 behind Jake Ferguson.
TrendLuke Schoonmaker — career by season (regular season only)
| Season | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 65 | 2 | 26.5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 36 | 27 | 241 | 1 | 57.1 |
| 2025 | 14 | 23 | 14 | 132 | 0 | 27.2 |
Three seasons, three different roles — but the same depth-chart slot. Schoonmaker has played exactly TE2 behind Jake Ferguson every year since being drafted in the 2nd round (58th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft by Dallas.
His 2024 was his real breakout — 241 yards on 27 catches in 12 games — but 2025 saw his target volume cut nearly in half (36 → 23) as Ferguson rebounded to a 600-yard, 8-TD season.
Why it matters. Sets the baseline context for Schoonmaker's career arc — a TE drafted to complement Ferguson who has never escaped that shadow despite one breakout season.
Year 2 to Year 3: from 4.8 PPR/game to 1.9 PPR/game. The Ferguson rebound erased Schoonmaker's role.
SplitDAL TE room — same year, different shares
| Player | Year | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Ferguson | 2024 | 86 | 59 | 494 | 0 |
| Luke Schoonmaker | 2024 | 36 | 27 | 241 | 1 |
| Jake Ferguson | 2025 | 102 | 82 | 600 | 8 |
| Luke Schoonmaker | 2025 | 23 | 14 | 132 | 0 |
In 2024, Ferguson had a down year (494 yds, 0 TDs) and Schoonmaker's role grew to fill the red-zone gap. He even out-touchdown'd Ferguson 1-to-0 that season.
In 2025, Ferguson rebounded to 600 yards and 8 TDs — and Schoonmaker was squeezed back to a blocking-first TE2 role. His targets dropped from 36 to 23, catches from 27 to 14, yards from 241 to 132. Zero TDs in 2025 after scoring in each of his first two NFL seasons.
Why it matters. The Ferguson rebound is the single biggest factor in Schoonmaker's fantasy irrelevance — this card directly quantifies what changed and why.
Week 11, 2024 vs Houston: Schoonmaker drew 10 targets while Jake Ferguson drew 1 — the one game the TE roles were inverted.
AnomalyDAL TE targets — Week 11, 2024 (Cooper Rush at QB)
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Schoonmaker | 10 | 6 | 56 | 0 |
| Jake Ferguson | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
Week 11, 2024 vs Houston: With Cooper Rush under center and Dak Prescott sidelined, the Cowboys' target tree looked nothing like normal. Schoonmaker received 10 targets — his career high — while Ferguson got just 1 target, the lowest of any game either had that season.
Schoonmaker finished with 6 catches for 56 yards, both career highs. It's the only game in three seasons where he served as the clear receiving TE while Ferguson was essentially a blocker. Once Prescott returned, the roles snapped back immediately.
Why it matters. Shows that Schoonmaker can get meaningful target volume when Ferguson is bypassed — but this has happened exactly once in 38 regular-season games, indicating it's the exception, not a developing role.
2nd-round TE pick (#58 overall, 2023) — 438 regular-season career yards through 3 seasons.
ComparisonAs the 58th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Schoonmaker came in with expectations of being a complementary TE alongside Jake Ferguson. The regular-season career line so far — 38 games, 49 catches, 438 yards, 3 TDs — is below what a typical 2nd-round TE produces in three seasons.
Comparable 2nd-round TEs from recent drafts had reached 600+ yards in a single season by Year 3. Schoonmaker's career-high single-season is 241 yards (2024). The path to becoming a starter likely requires a Ferguson departure — Ferguson's contract runs through 2026.
Why it matters. Contextualizes Schoonmaker's output against draft-slot expectations — a 2nd-round pick producing 438 career receiving yards in 3 years is well below the historical pace for that investment.
First career TD: Week 2, 2023, on a 1-yard score vs the Jets — a 1-of-1 night that still hasn't been topped.
MilestoneWeek 2, 2023 vs NYJ: Schoonmaker's rookie debut as a receiver — 1 target, 1 reception, 1 yard, 1 TD. The line is comically efficient: 100% catch rate, 100% TD conversion.
He scored again in Week 11, 2023 vs CAR (2 rec, 23 yds, 1 TD) and Week 12, 2024 vs WAS (3 rec, 55 yds, 1 TD) — three career TDs total, all of them in close-range goal-line work that Ferguson otherwise dominates.
Why it matters. Three TDs in 38 regular-season games is a reflection of how rarely Schoonmaker sees the end zone — each scoring play is a notable event rather than a routine outcome.
6'5", 250 lbs out of Michigan — built like a blocker, used like one in 2025 with just 23 targets across 14 games.
RareAt 6'5", 250 lbs, Schoonmaker has the size of a Y-tight end and the Michigan pedigree that suggests his real NFL value is in-line blocking, not the route tree.
The 2025 usage backs that up: 23 targets across 14 games (1.6 targets/game) is the lowest volume of his career. His 2025 yards-per-target (5.7) was actually mid-range for him — he had a career-low 4.3 in 2023 — so efficiency wasn't the issue. Pure volume was. Ferguson handled the receiving role; Schoonmaker spent the year predominantly as a 6th OL in run sets.
Why it matters. Corrects a common misreading of Schoonmaker's 2025 — his efficiency (YPT, catch rate) wasn't historically bad, it was the raw target volume that cratered, pointing to usage decisions rather than player decline.
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