Having not played organized football since junior high, it would be a monumental feat to convert the former Baylor hoops star in to not only a tight end -- but one at the professional level.

Paying him just below the 53rd-man's salary to keep him from being woo'd while on the team's practice squad after failing to make the final roster cut in his rookie season, the Cowboys were effectively all-in to see Gathers morph into a force at the position.

The Cowboys instead opted to leave him on the sidelines and instead promote then-rookie Blake Jarwin from the practice squad to the team's active roster, preventing the Philadelphia Eagles from signing him away.

If those two decisions weren't ominous enough, they went on to select former Stanford standout Dalton Schultz in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, one day after news broke on Witten heavily considering retirement.

That's a big deal on a team who's success lives and dies on the legs of running back Ezekiel Elliott and Co., and Gathers isn't shying away from that criticism.

Speaking recently with Matt Mosley and Ed Werder on The Doomsday Podcast , he readily admits Garrett is correct, but feels he still brings value to the table.

The team has tried it's hand more than once in recent history at squeezing in an athletic TE who left something to be desired when it came to helping the run game, and both Martellus Bennett and Gavin Escobar can attest there's an exceedingly short leash in Dallas for such.