2026
2026 season · TE · #86 · 9th season
Dalton Schultz
Age 30 · 6'5" · 242 lb · Stanford · Pick 137 overall (2018). Listed TE1 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 57% across 7 games.
- How goodSchultz's +9.8 EPA is 17th of 45 tight ends.
- Where it comes fromThe biggest share comes after the catch (+17.6, 50th percentile per target).
- Fantasy4.6 standard points a game, TE23 of 109.7.0 half-PPR points a game, TE20 of 109.9.3 PPR points a game, TE18 of 109.
- How he's usedHe is a straight-dropback target: 12% of his targets come off play action (league 22%).
- LatelyTargets are steady: 5.3 a game over his last three against 6.1 for the season.
- This weekWeek 8 is the bye.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target shareof team targets | 17% | 14th of 45 | 70th | |
| Depth of targetair yards per target | 5.6 | 29th of 45 | 37th | |
| After the catchyards per reception | 4.4 | 28th of 45 | 39th | |
| Catch ratereceptions per target | 77% | 10th of 45 | 78th | |
| EPA per target | +0.23 | 22nd of 45 | 52nd |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First downsper target | 28% | 37th of 45 | 19th | |
| Drop ratedrops per target, lower is better | 9% | 41st of 45 | 10th | |
| Yards per game | 46.0 | 10th of 45 | 79th | |
| Success rate | 51% | 30th of 45 | 34th | |
| Total EPA | +9.8 | 17th of 45 | 63rd |
How this is measured
Each bar is the league at his position; the marker is him. Right is better, the dashed line is the median. Ranks are out of the qualifying pool, ties shown as T-, and move every week as the pool changes.
Schultz scores 4.6 standard points a game, TE23 of 109 TEs with enough games. Most weeks land between 3.0 and 4.3; 1 boom week (9+) and 1 bust (under 3). Next up, in Week 9, the Chargers allow the 7th-fewest standard points to TEs, 5.8 a game.
Schultz scores 7.0 half-PPR points a game, TE20 of 109 TEs with enough games. Most weeks land between 4.5 and 6.7; 1 boom week (12+) and 1 bust (under 4). Next up, in Week 9, the Chargers allow the 6th-fewest half-PPR points to TEs, 8.0 a game.
Schultz scores 9.3 PPR points a game, TE18 of 109 TEs with enough games. Most weeks land between 6.0 and 9.1; 1 boom week (15+) and 1 bust (under 5). Next up, in Week 9, the Chargers allow the 6th-fewest PPR points to TEs, 10.2 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the TE12 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
He is a straight-dropback target: 12% of his targets come off play action (league 22%). Screens are not part of his role: 0% of his targets (league 5%). His share of the team's targets is 19%: on third down it climbs to 26%; inside the 20 it holds at 15%.
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own targets, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying tight ends; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Schultz's +9.8 EPA is 17th of 45 tight ends. The biggest share comes after the catch (+17.6, 50th percentile per target).
career +0.22 over 2018–2025 · his 4th best of 8
How this is measured
Every target this season, split by what happened. Catches divide at the catch: the yards in the air and what came after. The percentile is him among the qualifying tight ends, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 15 targets.
He is targeted short right 2.1× as often as the league (42% of his targets against 20%) and gains +0.52 EPA a target there.
How this is measured
Every target with a charted depth and direction this season; sacks and throws with no charted direction are left out. Left and right are as the offense sees the field. Cells with fewer than three targets show no EPA.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
at ChargersSoFi Stadium
HOU −4.5 · O/U 40.5
The defense vs TE
a middle-of-the-pack matchup
His history
First meeting this season
His status
Week 8 is the bye. A middle-of-the-pack matchup: the Chargers rank 15th vs TE, allowing +0.24 EPA per target to tight ends. He has averaged 33 yards a game against middle defenses this season.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs BUF L 31-3621st D | 21st vs TE | 66% | 8 | 4 | 35 | -2.5 | |
| 2 | vs CIN L 6-2026th D | 26th vs TE | 68% | 14 | 12 | 140 | +7.5 | |
| 3 | at IND L 17-1919th D | 19th vs TE | 54% | 3 | 3 | 30 | -1.0 | |
| 4 | vs DAL L 30-3423rd D | 23rd vs TE | 64% | 2 | 2 | 9 | +3.1 | |
| 5 | at TEN W 26-35th D | 5th vs TE | 52% | 4 | 3 | 30 | +2.2 | |
| 6 | at JAX W 34-312nd D | 2nd vs TE | 40% | 6 | 4 | 33 | -1.0 | |
| 7 | vs NYG L 21-278th D | 8th vs TE | 57% | 6 | 5 | 45 | +1.5 | |
| 8 | Bye week | |||||||
| 9 | at LACSun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | at CLESun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | vs INDThu Nov 19 | |||||||
| 12 | vs BALSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | at PITSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at WASSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | vs JAXSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | at PHIThu Dec 24 | |||||||
| 17 | at GBMon Jan 4 | |||||||
| 18 | vs TENSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 7 games | 57% | 43 | 33 | 322 | 0 | +9.8 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Tgt share | Air share | aDOT | YAC | EPA/tgt | 1D | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs BUF L 31-3621st D | 21st vs TE | 22% | 8% | 3.3 | 27 | -0.32 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | vs CIN L 6-2026th D | 26th vs TE | 28% | 22% | 7.4 | 63 | +0.54 | 6 | |
| 3 | at IND L 17-1919th D | 19th vs TE | 12% | 8% | 9.0 | 3 | -0.32 | 1 | |
| 4 | vs DAL L 30-3423rd D | 23rd vs TE | 8% | 1% | 2.0 | 5 | +1.57 | 1 | |
| 5 | at TEN W 26-35th D | 5th vs TE | 12% | 16% | 10.5 | 8 | +0.55 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | at JAX W 34-312nd D | 2nd vs TE | 19% | 9% | 4.0 | 13 | -0.17 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | vs NYG L 21-278th D | 8th vs TE | 21% | 7% | 2.5 | 25 | +0.25 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 9 | at LACSun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||||
| 10 | at CLESun Nov 15 | ||||||||
| 11 | vs INDThu Nov 19 | ||||||||
| 12 | vs BALSun Nov 29 | ||||||||
| 13 | at PITSun Dec 6 | ||||||||
| 14 | at WASSun Dec 13 | ||||||||
| 15 | vs JAXSun Dec 20 | ||||||||
| 16 | at PHIThu Dec 24 | ||||||||
| 17 | at GBMon Jan 4 | ||||||||
| 18 | vs TENSun Jan 10 | ||||||||
| 7 games | 17% | 10% | 5.6 | 144 | +0.23 | 12 | 4 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs BUF L 31-3621st D | 21st vs TE | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | ||
| 2 | vs CIN L 6-2026th D | 26th vs TE | 12 | 140 | 11.7 | 2 | |
| 3 | at IND L 17-1919th D | 19th vs TE | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | ||
| 4 | vs DAL L 30-3423rd D | 23rd vs TE | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | ||
| 5 | at TEN W 26-35th D | 5th vs TE | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | ||
| 6 | at JAX W 34-312nd D | 2nd vs TE | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | ||
| 7 | vs NYG L 21-278th D | 8th vs TE | 5 | 45 | 9.0 | ||
| 8 | Bye week | ||||||
| 9 | at LACSun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||
| 10 | at CLESun Nov 15 | ||||||
| 11 | vs INDThu Nov 19 | ||||||
| 12 | vs BALSun Nov 29 | ||||||
| 13 | at PITSun Dec 6 | ||||||
| 14 | at WASSun Dec 13 | ||||||
| 15 | vs JAXSun Dec 20 | ||||||
| 16 | at PHIThu Dec 24 | ||||||
| 17 | at GBMon Jan 4 | ||||||
| 18 | vs TENSun Jan 10 | ||||||
| 7 games | 33 | 322 | 9.8 | 0 | 2 |
Targets are steady: 5.3 a game over his last three against 6.1 for the season. 3 straight games above a starter's median in rec yards.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 9th-toughest slate vs TE: his opponents rank 14.9 of 32 on average (league middle 17.0). Ahead: 2 of his next 10 are top-10 vs TE and 2 are bottom-10, starting with the Chargers (15th, away) in Week 9.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Tgt/g | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 3 | 5.3 | 36 | +0.17 |
| 11 to 22Middle | 2 | 5.5 | 33 | -0.32 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 2 | 8.0 | 75 | +0.66 |
| All games | 7 | 6.1 | 46 | +0.23 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
His production barely moves with the opponent (r = 0.38); it has traveled.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
His best year was 2021, 808 receiving yards in 17 games with DAL. This season's 46.0 a game puts him on pace for 782 over 17, close to it.
| Season | Team | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | DAL | 8 | 17 | 12 | 116 | 0 | 9.7 | 14.5 | +0.22 |
| 2019 | DAL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | -0.18 |
| 2020 | DAL | 16 | 89 | 63 | 615 | 4 | 9.8 | 38.4 | +0.15 |
| 2021 | DAL | 17 | 104 | 78 | 808 | 8 | 10.4 | 47.5 | +0.45 |
| 2022 | DAL | 15 | 89 | 57 | 577 | 5 | 10.1 | 38.5 | 0.00 |
| 2023 | HOU | 15 | 88 | 59 | 635 | 5 | 10.8 | 42.3 | +0.28 |
| 2024 | HOU | 17 | 85 | 53 | 532 | 2 | 10.0 | 31.3 | +0.04 |
| 2025 | HOU | 17 | 106 | 82 | 777 | 3 | 9.5 | 45.7 | +0.35 |
| 2026 | HOU | 7 | 43 | 33 | 322 | 0 | 9.8 | 46.0 | +0.23 |
| Career | 2 tm | 118 | 623 | 438 | 4,388 | 27 | 10.0 | 37.2 | +0.22 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- TE1 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- Quadricep, full participation in practice
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- Drops
- 4 on 43 targets
- Broken tackles
- 0
- Passer rating when targeted
- 91.2
- Play action
- …
- Contested
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Woody MarksRB | 94 | 365 · 2 TD | -12.9 |
 David MontgomeryRB | 59 | 205 · 3 TD | -13.4 |
 Xavier HutchinsonWR | 44 | 274 · 1 TD | -1.4 |
 Nico CollinsWR | 37 | 341 · 3 TD | +21.3 |
 Jaylin NoelWR | 27 | 357 · 2 TD | +20.1 |
 Kayshon BoutteWR | 23 | 194 | +9.3 |
 Marvin Harrison Jr.WR | 21 | 125 · 2 TD | +3.7 |
 C.J. StroudQB | 18 | 80 · 1 TD | +8.4 |