GLENDALE, Ariz. — Zack Kuntz played 43 of the 58 offensive snaps in the Dallas Cowboys‘ 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals and led the team with three catches for 36 yards. He has been in the building since Aug. 6.
Luke Schoonmaker was the sole other tight end available, playing eight snaps, which accounts for 14% of the total.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer faced an unprecedented situation with a very limited tight end depth chart. He noted that Schoonmaker’s plays were used up early on the first drive, and Kuntz got off to a slow start, probably pressing too much at first before settling into a groove.
“It’s tough. And then Schoonmaker used up his plays in the first drive. And got to give Zack Kuntz a lot of credit, man. He just started a little slow. He was out there flying around,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s been here 10 days, something like that. Was probably pressing a little bit, but I thought he really settled in and got some guys some jumbo snaps, and I think that was good.”
“It was the first time I’ve ever really had to go into a game with one tight end and mixing a little bit of 10 personnel,” Schottenheimer continued. “So it was fun.”
Ten personnel puts one running back and no tight ends on the field with four receivers.
Zack Kuntz Caught All Three Of His Passes From Sam Howell
Kuntz was targeted four times. The first came from Joe Milton III on fourth-and-1 at the Arizona 12 on the game’s opening possession, and it fell incomplete short right, ending a 12-play, 66-yard drive on downs.
The other three passes were from Sam Howell in the second half, and Kuntz caught all of them. He gained 6 yards on first down at the Arizona 49-yard line during the third quarter. To start the fourth quarter, he made a 25-yard reception on first-and-10 from the Dallas 20, which was the third-longest Dallas play of the night. Later in that drive, he converted a third-and-3 at the Arizona 37 with a 5-yard catch over the middle.
Kuntz also played 11 snaps on special teams, 48% of the team’s special teams total and tied for the second-highest mark on the roster.
Dallas claimed him off waivers from Las Vegas on Aug. 6. The Raiders signed him on July 31 and waived him on Aug. 5. He spent the offseason with Miami.
The Cowboys made the claim after losing Princeton Fant to a torn ACL earlier in the month.
Kuntz joined the league as a seventh-round selection by the New York Jets in 2023, chosen 220th overall from Old Dominion. He played for the Jets in 2023 and 2024 but has not recorded a regular-season catch since.
Kuntz, listed at 6-8 and 251 pounds, played 21 games for Penn State from 2018 to 2020 before transferring. In 2021, he caught 73 passes at Old Dominion, ranking second nationally among tight ends, and earned first-team All-Conference USA. A season-ending injury in 2022 limited him to just two games. At the 2023 combine, he ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash and achieved a 40-inch vertical leap.
The Room Behind Them
Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford were among the 29 players Dallas held out in Glendale. Ferguson caught 82 passes for 600 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games last season and made the Pro Bowl. Spann-Ford caught nine passes for 90 yards and a touchdown in 17 games with five starts.
Schoonmaker’s only catch was a 19-yard gain on third-and-1 at the Dallas 42, which advanced the opening drive into Arizona territory. He also played six snaps on special teams.
Schoonmaker made 14 catches for 132 yards on 23 targets over 17 games last season, starting seven of those games. He hasn’t scored since 2024.
The jumbo snaps Schottenheimer mentioned appeared in the officials’ reports four times. Guard Sam Gutierrez was listed as eligible twice in the first quarter and again on the last snap of the first half. Guard Cooper Glaser was reported eligible on that same snap and once more in the fourth quarter. Tackle Drew Shelton appeared as eligible on a fourth-quarter run by Israel Abanikanda, which covered 8 yards.
Dallas ran the ball 34 times for 175 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and 7.1 yards per play.
The Cowboys host the New Orleans Saints on Friday at 7 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium in the preseason finale. The game airs on CBS 11 and ESPN. Dallas cuts to 53 players after it.
