The Houston Texans made it a priority to re-sign Dalton Schultz in the 2024 offseason. The former Dallas Cowboys signed a one-year deal with the Texans in 2023, hoping to turn that one-year opportunity into a "make it" type of contract in 2024. A move that he ended up pulling off. He was handsomely rewarded by the Texans to the tune of $36 million over three years.
Clearly, the Texans saw him as a high-priority player, and with his impact on the team in 2023, it was pretty clear that the team wanted to do everything they could to keep him. Hence his current contract. This has led some to start ranking him among the best tight ends in the game. He put up a respectable 635 yards and five touchdowns while playing alongside rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Was that enough to get him into the Top 10 of the Tight Ends? Well, according to the Texans Wire, yes. He came in at No. 10, just behind Evan Engram of Jacksonville, Trey McBride of Arizona, Sam LaPorta of Detroit, David Njoku of Cleveland, Dallas Goedert of Philadelphia, T.J. Hockenson of Minnesota, Mark Andrews of Baltimore, Kerry Kittle of San Francisco and the number one guy being Travis Kelce of Kansas City.
We agree that Schultz is in the Top 10, but we think he's actually a bit low. We don't see Engram, McBride, Njou, or Goedert being "better" than Schultz. The rest of the guys might do something better than him, but few have his ability to be a major pass target and a reliable blocker.
He's a unique player in that regard, and that's a major reason why he was such a vaunted off-season target. A lot of people wanted him, but Houston knew he was a key piece in any future success. So we agree he's a Top 10 tight end, but we think he's actually a bit low.