Rico Gathers put on an impressive showing in Cowboys opener

Dallas Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers may be buried on the depth chart, but the Hall of Fame game was an opportunity to shine, and he took it…

The Hall of Fame game is generally one of the least interesting games of the NFL slate, even though it is the first sign of football we have after a long offseason. That being said, the spotlight is always an opportunity for someone to shine, and on Thursday night, that player was Dallas Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers.

After the 2015-16 college basketball season, Gathers decided his body type was more translatable to the football field than the hardwood. His college days had been spent trying to rack up points, rebounds, and assists, and his professional career would consist of hauling in passes as a tight end.

At 6-foot-6, 273 pounds, Gathers ran a 4.75 second 40-yard dash. He showed off his ridiculous athleticism, and despite not having much of a recent football background, the Dallas Cowboys selected him with a sixth round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

There’s no harm in that, especially when Gathers has as much upside as he does with that type of size and athletic ability.

As was the case with much of the 2016 class for the Cowboys, Gathers looks like a hit.

It’s obviously early and this is just one pre-season game that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, but these reps matter for the players, and this type of moment was huge for someone like Gathers:

I’m certainly not going to go there just yet, but Gathers physically looks a lot like Martellus Bennett there. Perhaps it’s just the jersey no. 80 in a Cowboys uniform that’s reminding me of a young Bennett, but there’s no mistaking the similarities in size and athletic ability between the two.

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Dallas has obviously got a lot going on right now off the field, but this is a nice development for them at a position where Jason Witten is certainly approaching the home stretch of his career.

If Gathers can show this type of playmaking ability consistently, Dallas will be able to effectively pass that baton down to the next.