As Dak Prescott looks to return to the field this Sunday against the Detroit Lions, it’s exciting to wonder how this offense can look with Prescott back under center. But let’s be honest – the Cowboys need to acknowledge the wide receiver position.
Yes, CeeDee Lamb is a star. Lamb is leading the Cowboys with 33 receptions, 409 yards, and two touchdowns. He is emerging as the #1 receiver for this team, but he is still growing. We have seen over the course of this season that Lamb is still struggling with drops and maintaining separation from the opposing defenses.
Michael Gallup is still recovering from the torn-ACL injury he suffered earlier in the year. Gallup has already shown flashes of his spectacular-catch ability, but as we’ve seen over the years with ACL injuries, players aren’t 100% themselves until a full season or two after they suffered the injury.
Out of all the wide receivers, Dak Prescott seems to have the best rapport and connection with Gallup. When Prescott returns to the field, he will surely be looking Gallup’s way – but how reliable can Gallup be for Prescott and this team going forward?
Behind Gallup, the emerging six-year veteran wide receiver Noah Brown has been having his best year yet it seems. Through the first six games of this season, Brown has been targeted 32 times (most targets of any WR on the Cowboys) and has 20 receptions for 289 yards and one touchdown. Noah Brown has been on the Cowboys roster since 2017, but a plague of injuries has hindered his ability to find the field. It is also fair to wonder since Noah Brown has spent much of his career on the Cowboys practice squad — is his production more of a reflection of his connection with Cooper Rush?
Rush has been on the Cowboys’ practice squad and scout team for almost the same amount of time as Noah Brown, and has spent his time being the quarterback that Brown is most familiar with. It is a legitimate question to be curious as to how Brown will perform going forward without Rush at quarterback.
James Washington, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver who was signed to the team in the offseason, is still a few weeks away from being able to play after suffering a foot injury during training camp. But the question for Washington and how he can fit in this offense remains to be seen.
Simply put: the current wide receiver core for the Cowboys needs depth, and it wouldn’t hurt to add another playmaker.
In 2018, the Cowboys knew their wide receiver core was not good enough and they went out and made a blockbuster trade for Amari Cooper. During this offseason, the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper without any attempt to fill that void in the depth chart. Fast forward now to week 7, and it looks like once again the Cowboys could use some help at the position.
There might be options out there for the Cowboys, including star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. When the Rams signed Beckham in the middle of the season last year, he made an immediate impact on their team and was the centerpiece to the Rams’ success during the Super Bowl, until he tore his ACL in the second half of the game. The Rams knew they needed to fill a missing piece in their roster to contend for the Lombardi trophy, and they made the right moves.
Will the Cowboys inquire about OBJ? It’s doubtful, but I like to think the Cowboys will do their homework on any receiver that is available via free agency or trade. All of these questions and speculations could be answered Sunday after we see how Dak Prescott and this receiver corps perform.
I’m not here to say this wide receiver group for the Cowboys stinks. That’s not the case. The Cowboys have playmakers at every position of their football team and are built for a deep playoff run this year. But it is glaringly obvious that the Cowboys have questions at wide receiver, and how they answer them is still to be determined.
