To say the Dallas Cowboys need better production out of their wide receiver position compared to a year ago would be a massive understatement. Despite having an offense that ranked in the top five in the NFL in scoring, top five on third downs, and top 10 in total passing yards (8th), the Cowboys had just one receiver with over 1,000 yards. You may have guessed that player was CeeDee Lamb, and you’d be right.
CeeDee Lamb ate up 156 targets throughout the course of the 2022 NFL season, almost twice as much as the next guy in the Dallas Cowboys offense (Dalton Schultz, 89) and more than double the next two wide receivers on the list (Noah Brown and Michael Gallup, tied at 74 apiece). To translate those stats to a practical problem: The Dallas Cowboys only had one true go-to target in the passing game, and they didn’t really have a viable second option at receiver.
That’s really their own fault, too. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys‘ front office made the hilariously bad decision to trade Amari Cooper for next to nothing. Financially motivated or not, keeping Cooper should have come down to being a football move, and the Cowboys made the wrong call. And it hurt them last year.
In the 2023 offseason, they traded for Brandin Cooks for nearly the same price they gave away Cooper. And ironically, the Texans traded away Cooks for some of the same reasons why the Cowboys traded Cooper. The addition of Cooks is massive, but the Cowboys also might be getting some much-needed receiver help from one of their 2022 draft picks, Jalen Tolbert.
Jalen Tolbert ready for a year two breakout with the Dallas Cowboys?
Jalen Tolbert caught just two passes in eight games during his rookie season for the Dallas Cowboys. To put it bluntly, he was a non-factor. But plenty of people liked him coming out of college where he was a third-round pick. Here’s what NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein had to say about Tolbert coming out of South Alabama:
"Silky smooth athlete who has morphed into a monster over the last two seasons. Tolbert is a high-character prospect with skill elements that are dripping with NFL potential. He gave work to everyone he faced, including SEC cover corners at Tennessee. His three-sport background offers unique perspective to pull from at his position, and his route-running gives him a leg up in camp battles early on. His traits, talent and production should push him up the board, and dialing up the competitive spirit could turn him into a top-flight WR2.Lance Zierlein, NFL.com"
It’s great to have people thinking highly of you during NFL Draft season, but what about Tolbert’s progression behind the scenes in Dallas? What’s Mike McCarthy saying about him heading into year two?
#Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy talked about DE Sam Williams' development over the offseason. Also WR Jalen Tolbert is doing things. pic.twitter.com/4x39lTksuZ
— Mark Lane (@therealmarklane) June 1, 2023
Tolbert is getting plenty of work with the Cowboys’ top offense, which is huge. This team needs to figure out how to incorporate more players at receiver into the mix, especially now with Dalton Schultz off to the Houston Texans. Even with rookie Luke Schoonmaker, it’s going to be up to the receivers to really take this offense to new heights. Dak Prescott threw 15 interceptions in 12 games last year and part of the problem is, he doesn’t have the proper playmakers at his disposal.
That, and, you know — making bad decisions with the ball.
But the lack of receiver talent is certainly something the Cowboys took note of in the offseason and it’s certainly something they’ve improved upon with the addition of Cooks, and now hopefully — the progression of Jalen Tolbert in year two.