During the draft weekend, Dallas took on two very different tasks simultaneously. The front office signed veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling while the situation surrounding George Pickens remained unresolved.
After the draft, they completed a class featuring Caleb Downs, a move widely praised as a crucial upgrade for a defense that desperately needed one.
Once those tasks were finished, the attention turned to the undrafted free agent market, where one player, in particular, stands out as having a better chance than others of making the final roster.
That player is Michael Trigg.
Among the Cowboys’ undrafted free agents, the former Baylor tight end has the clearest path to the 53-man roster.
This is not due to an empty position but rather because his skill set addresses a specific need that increases his chances of making the team.
DallasCowboys.com highlighted him among the post-draft signings, noting that Trigg is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound target who recorded career highs in 2025, with 694 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
His impressive resume alone warrants attention, but what sets him apart from the other undrafted players is his combination of receiving production, exceptional physical attributes, and a depth chart that has enough uncertainty at the bottom to create a legitimate competition for the tight end fourth (TE4) spot.
A narrow opening
The immediate concern is that Dallas already has Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, and Luke Schoonmaker in the tight end room.
Additionally, SI’s Cowboys coverage mentioned Princeton Fant as another competitor if the team chooses to carry multiple tight ends.
While this seems crowded at first, it becomes clearer when examining their roles, and Ferguson is the established player.
Schoonmaker is still trying to justify the investment made in him, and Spann-Ford offers size and developmental potential, while Fant plays more of a specialist role.
However, none of this necessarily excludes Trigg, as the back end of the tight end room is not defined by just one characteristic, but it depends on what the coaching staff seeks in a fourth option.
A fourth tight end is not typically added just as a simpler version of the first tight end, as he remains because he brings something unique that the group lacks.
Trigg has a compelling case for this role, and Blogging The Boys listed him as one of the most intriguing undrafted signings and remarked that it was surprising he went undrafted at all.
The article emphasized his size, long arms, and ability to make plays downfield, highlighting that he caught 50 passes for 694 yards and six touchdowns in an offense that did not primarily focus on tight ends.
The write-up also recognized his shortcomings, including the need for improvement in blocking and concerns about maturity during his college career, but his potential as a receiving threat was evident, making the coaching staff’s ability to develop him a topic of discussion.
That’s why his case for making the roster is stronger than it may first appear.
The Cowboys need him to be valuable enough in a defined role so that cutting him would seem riskier than keeping him.
For a player like Trigg, that role typically starts as a mismatch option during training camp and the preseason, with opportunities to expand if the offense identifies a genuine challenge for opposing defenses.
Standing at around 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4, weighing about 240 pounds, and possessing an impressive wingspan and catch radius, Trigg presents something that coaches can creatively utilize in specific situations. SI’s Cowboys coverage noted this, calling him a “physical freak” and citing impressive measurements that place him among the top recent tight end prospects.
Trigg’s undrafted counterparts have their own merits, but none possess a clearer combination of talent and opportunity.
Jordan Hudson is local and productive, while Camden Brown has size and a good record of touchdowns.
DJ Rogers presents a reasonable option at the same position as Trigg, though his final-year numbers were considerably lower.
Sidney Fugar and Shiyazh Pete are intriguing tackles, but offensive line positions often require more than just summer practice for undrafted free agents to secure a spot on the active roster.
Dominic Richardson is experienced, but running back positions frequently become crowded due to special teams demands and veteran insurance signings.
Kelvin Gilliam, Tommy Dunn Jr., and DJ Withers play in positions where sheer numbers can overwhelm an undrafted player before the preseason even begins, and although Trigg joins a tight end room that isn’t empty, his path to the roster is clearer than that of many of the other undrafted candidates.
The difference between “interesting” and “making it”
Many undrafted signings are labeled as intriguing late, but most never pose a serious threat to making a 53-man roster, but Michael Trigg stands out because several factors in his evaluation align positively.
First, there’s his talent.
Two separate analyses, which we quoted before, one from Sports Illustrated and the other from Blogging The Boys, consider him a superior athlete compared to the average undrafted tight end.
Sports Illustrated went so far as to state that draft analyst Ryan Fowler believes Trigg is among the undrafted free agents (UDFAs) with the best chance to secure a spot on a 53-man roster.
While this alone doesn’t guarantee success, it is significant, especially considering the situation he stepped into, and the Cowboys didn’t use a draft pick on a tight end, even in a notably deep class this year.
Moreover, the official tracker confirmed that Trigg was one of their more noteworthy signings after the draft.
Teams often show their true feelings about a player through urgency in signing them, rather than merely through draft picks.
Another critical aspect is the attention from the coaching staff.
SI highlighted that tight ends coach Lunda Wells attended Baylor’s pro day and was closely engaged with Trigg during the event.
This kind of pre-draft interest is essential because undrafted free agents typically need a champion within the organization, and players with unique skills are more likely to be retained if their position coach already has a plan for them.
Trigg fits this mold because he is a player targeted by the coaching staff who was already familiar.
Lastly, there are considerations regarding roster economics.
Justifying a fourth tight end is generally easier than making a case for a seventh wide receiver or an eleventh defensive lineman, especially if that fourth tight end brings a receiving skill set that differentiates him from others in the group.
The overarching point is that succeeding as an undrafted player often depends less on being the strongest talent in that class and more on finding the right structural fit.
Dallas has offered Trigg just that opportunity, and while the tight end room has familiar faces, there is sufficient uncertainty beneath Jake Ferguson, creating a competitive environment for the final roster spots.
His profile distinguishes him from other post-draft signings; the team’s genuine interest in him predates the draft.
The role he can fill is well-defined and important enough to merit consideration, and among the Cowboys’ UDFAs, no one seems to have a more plausible route from rookie minicamp to the 53-man roster than Michael Trigg.
During the draft weekend, Dallas took on two very different tasks simultaneously. The front office signed veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling while the situation surrounding George Pickens remained unresolved. After the draft, they completed a class featuring Caleb Downs, a move widely praised as a crucial upgrade for a defense that desperately needed one.