With training camp arriving on 29th July for the Dallas Cowboys, the final 53-man roster speculations are in full swing. And with that, the stakes have risen for some veterans to show up like never before, or risk losing their roster spot. Franchise quarterback Dak Prescott had already outlined where tight end Luke Schoonmaker stands in that equation. Building on that, analysts are predicting an uphill climb for him.

The Athletic’s John Machota recently listed out 10 “Cowboys who need to elevate their game the most this season,” and Schoonmaker’s name landed 5th on that list, with a clear set of expectations.

“The Cowboys used a second-round pick on him in 2023,” Machota wrote. “Since then, Schoonmaker has started only 13 games. He caught only 14 passes last season. [Jake] Ferguson is the clear No. 1 tight end, and Brevyn Spann-Ford has moved up to the No. 2 spot. Schoonmaker needs to take a big jump in the final year of his rookie contract.”

The numbers match that argument. Schoonmaker only managed to get seven starts last season, but did play all season. His 2025 campaign boiled down to just 132 receiving yards, no touchdowns, and just 7 first downs. Accounting for just 391 offensive snaps doesn’t exactly solidify him as a franchise cornerstone either. And other analysts feel the same way.

Blogging the Boys’ Jess Haynie recently projected a 66% chance that Schoonmaker will make the final roster post-training camp, but he also noted that he’d just be a backup who “needs a big season” just to stay in the room behind Ferguson and Spann-Ford. And all of this matches the verdict franchise quarterback Dak Prescott has already handed out.

“He’s just got to show up,” Dak said on the last day of the mandatory minicamps. “It’s up to the coaches, Lunda Wells; I can tell you that group in there, each and every one of those guys want to play. It’s a fortunate position that a couple of them get to play, but he’s just got to go in there and do right each and every Sunday.

“Make sure that he’s bringing the energy, catch every ball that’s thrown to him, block with the physicality that he has, use his big frame, and make sure that anytime his number’s [called], you just got to step up. The more you do that, the more opportunities you get.”

One upside for Luke Schoonmaker is the 6.1 yards he averaged after the catch on those limited receptions last season. But he didn’t even log enough snaps to earn a formal PFF grade, and not a single one of his plays ended in the end zone.

Now entering the final year on his rookie 4-year deal, Schoonmaker has exactly one season to show Dak Prescott & Co. that he can compete inside an offense with playoff ambitions – one that was the second best in the league last season without much help from him. If he checks all the boxes in camp, the Cowboys get a reason to keep calling his number. If he doesn’t, the depth chart could close the book on him long before the preseason arrives.