Peyton Hendershot

Peyton Hendershot (born April 23, 1999) is an American football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Indiana.

Early life
Hendershot attended Tri-West Hendricks High School. As a sophomore, he contributed to the team winning the 2014 3A state championship.

As a junior, he was a two-way player at tight end and defensive end, posting 51 receptions for 685 yards, 8 touchdowns, 30 tackles (5 for loss), 4 sacks and 3 pass breakups.

As a senior, he tallied 67 receptions for 896 yards and 9 touchdowns. He finished his high school career with 157 catches for 2,170 yards and 22 touchdowns. He received All-county, All-conference, 6A All-state, Indiana Football Coaches Association Top 50 and Indianapolis Star position award winner (tight end) honors.

He also practiced basketball, where he averaged 12.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks as a junior.

College career
Hendershot accepted a football scholarship from Indiana University Bloomington. As a true freshman in 2017, he appeared in the first four games as a backup tight end, before suffering a season-ending injury and being medical redshirted.

As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he started in 10 out of 11 games, while rotating with tight end Austin Dorris. He posted 15 receptions for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had 2 receptions for 47 yards against Rutgers University.

As a sophomore in 2019, he started all 13 games, setting the school's single-season tight end record with 52 catches for 622 yards. He recorded seven contests with 50-or-more yards and six games with five-or-more catches. He had 4 receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown against Ohio State University. He made 6 receptions for 95 yards against the University of Maryland. He had 7 receptions for 51 yards against Penn State University. As a junior in 2020, he started all 8 games in a season that was reduced by the Covid-19 Pandemic. His production dropped after battling injuries, posting 23 receptions (third on the team), 151 yards (third on the team) and 4 receiving touchdowns (second on the team). He had 6 receptions for 34 yards and his first career two-touchdown contest against Rutgers University. He made 4 receptions for 31 yards and one touchdown in 38-21 win against the No. 23 ranked University of Michigan.

As a senior in 2021, he started all 12 games, catching passes from starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. He registered 46 receptions (tied for team lead), 543 receiving yards (led the team), 4 touchdowns (third in school history for tight ends), one two-point conversion, two carries for 8 yards and 3 special teams tackles. He had 7 receptions for 100 yards against Western Kentucky University. He collected 5 receptions for 80 yards against Penn State University. He made 6 receptions for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns against the University of Maryland, becoming the first tight end in school history to have two receiving 100-yard games. He earned Third-team All-Big Ten honors.

He appeared in 32 games, finishing as the school's career leader for tight ends with 136 receptions for 1,479 yards, while ranking second with 14 receiving touchdowns.

Professional career
Hendershot was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2022 NFL Draft on April 30. He made the initial 53-man roster out of training camp as the team's third-string tight end, behind Dalton Schultz and fellow rookie Jake Ferguson. In Week 7 of the 2022 season, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a two-yard reception in the 24–6 victory over the Detroit Lions. As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games and started two, while recording 11 receptions for 103 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 special teams tackles.

In 2023, although previous starter Schultz left in free agency, the drafting in the second-round of Luke Schoonmaker, put Hendershot in a difficult situation to improve his position on the depth chart. He was the team's third-string tight end behind starter Ferguson and Schoonmaker. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 3 and was placed on injured reserve on October 12, 2023. He was activated on December 6. He appeared in 8 games with one start, registering 4 receptions for 38 yards. Although he fought to return to play, his ankle injury was serious enough to require offseason surgery.