It’s pretty rare for NFL teams to find players in the sixth-round and beyond who can come in and contribute in their first year in the league as rookies. But, this is an area where the Dallas Cowboys have been able to find some success the past few years. Xavier Woods is the latest example, but it looks as if wide receiver Cedrick Wilson could be the next.
Cedrick Wilson is just one of many new faces the Dallas Cowboys will have playing wide receiver for them in 2018. In fact, unless you have a roster in hand, it will be difficult to know one receiver from the other based on their jersey number alone. The position has changed that much.
Players like Cedrick Wilson aren’t usually able to come in and catch on early because they typically have established veterans already in front of them. Fortunately for Wilson, that’s not the case. If he can convince the coaching staff he’s ready, he could earn a role for himself early on.
I’m not trying to anoint Cedrick Wilson or announce him as a possible starter just yet, but he does have a few things going for him. It may not be enough to make him a starter, but he could still play a prominent role as a rookie and I’ll tell you why.
First off, Cedrick Wilson has already done pretty well for himself at Organized Team Activities (OTA’s). He is a better route-runner than many believed for a player his size, which has allowed him to separate from a few of the Cowboys defensive backs, probably catching the attention of the coaching staff.
But, the aspect of his game that I believe Dallas Cowboys fans will love about Wilson is his ability to put pressure on opposing defenses by going deep. In fact, he was one of the best deep threats in the nation last year at Boise State.
In the last two seasons at Boise State, Cedrick Wilson averaged 19 yards per catch on more than 130 receptions. He also caught 21 touchdowns and amassed more than 2,500 receiving yards. Sounds intriguing doesn’t it?
For years now, Cowboys fans have been salivating over the possibility of adding a true deep threat to the offense. A lot of us believed Brice Butler was that player, but due to inconsistencies or lack of trust from the coaching staff, he never really panned out.
Cedrick Wilson might be the player we all hoped Brice Butler would eventually turn into. Wilson is basically the same size as Butler, but unfortunately doesn’t have the same kind of straight-line speed. Butler was a 4.3 40 guy, whereas Wilson runs somewhere in the mid 4.5’s.
You may be wondering how Wilson could be a deep threat if he doesn’t have very good straight-line speed… Well, it’s because of his previously mentioned precision as a route-runner. He is able to get opposing defensive backs turned or off-balance, and then gains separation going deep. It could be an asset that comes in handy sooner rather than later.
This is all speculation at this point, but I for one will be paying particularly close attention to Cedrick Wilson and the rest of the new receivers joining the Dallas Cowboys this season. It’s going to be really fun to see how this shakes out.
