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Cowboys select Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker with No. 58 overall pick in NFL draft

Dallas reunited Schoonmaker with former college teammate Mazi Smith.

FRISCO — In other news Friday, the Dallas Cowboys changed the address of their headquarters from 1 Cowboys Way to 2 Wolverines Way.

Not really, but the hypothetical change would’ve been fitting.

A day after selecting Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith in the first round, the Cowboys went back to the Michigan well to select Wolverines tight end Luke Schoonmaker with the 58th overall pick.

“Something in my stomach was telling me,” Schoonmaker said when asked if he had a gut feeling about being drafted in the second round.

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Intuition? Maybe, or perhaps the recognition that a trend was about to happen. Schoonmaker told reporters after he was selected that he hadn’t talked to Smith yet, but he planned to send his college teammate and future Cowboys teammate a text message as soon as he could.

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“It’s amazing. Mazi is my guy,” said Schoonmaker, who played with Smith from 2019 up until this past season. “I’m so excited to be with him. I know it’s going to be a great experience and I know we’re both so excited.”

Not only do the selections of Smith and Schoonmaker share the Michigan tie, but they also signal a specific draft strategy for the Cowboys early on. Dallas had a need for run stuffer on the defensive line, so they selected a defensive tackle with “the biggest shoulders I’ve seen on a man ever,” said Schoonmaker. The Cowboys also had a need for a third tight end after the departure of Dalton Schultz in free agency, so they targeted a replacement.

There was a run on tight ends before Dallas selected Schoonmaker. Utah’s Dalton Kincaid was the only tight end taken in Round 1. Iowa’s Sam LaPorta went with the third pick in the second round to Detroit. Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer went immediately after him to Las Vegas. Green Bay selected Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave 42nd overall.

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Schoonmaker said he had a formal interview with the Cowboys at the NFL combine. He’ll now join a tight end room with last year’s fourth round pick Jake Ferguson, Peyton Hendershot and Sean McKeon, another former Michigan man.

Schoonmaker, a former high school quarterback, was a late bloomer at Michigan. He only had two receptions through his first three seasons. He was honorable mention All-Big Ten as a junior and earned third team honors as a senior. He had 52 receptions for 583 yards and six touchdowns the last two seasons combined.

This past season he missed two games due to a sprained AC joint. He also injured his shoulder in the College Football Playoff semifinal loss to TCU. The injuries continued to his pro day at Michigan, where he wasn’t able to complete his workout due to a right leg injury.

Schoonmaker will be 25 by the time next season starts.

On Twitter: @JoeJHoyt

Watch: David Moore and Calvin Watkins break down Cowboys' Day 2 NFL draft picks
Dallas Morning News beat writers David Moore and Calvin Watkins break down the Cowboys' picks from Day 2 of the NFL draft.

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