The biggest story of the Cowboys’ 2018 season was the mid-season arrival of Amari Cooper and the way it turned Dallas into a playoff-bound contender. Wide receiver remains a key component of the team this year, and today we’ll look at how the talent stacks up with only a week to go before 2019 training camp.
Cooper is back and all signs point to him getting a long-term contract in the near future. He is the undisputed number-one receiver and has reestablished himself as one of the better one in the NFL after a brief downtime in Oakland.
Last year’s third-round pick, Michael Gallup, rose to the number-two spot throughout last year and eventually was beating Cole Beasley in targets by the playoffs. There are reasonably high hopes for his continued development; Dallas could boast one of the best WR tandems in football by the end of 2019.
With the aforementioned Beasley bolting for Buffalo in free agency, the Cowboys made one of their splashier signings in veteran Randall Cobb to replace him. Cobb has struggled with injuries his last few years in Green Bay, but he’s still just 28 and has produced at a higher level than Cole ever did.
If Randall’s healthy, he brings more security to the position as a player who can step into a starting role if needed. But ideally, if Cooper and Gallup hold their spots down, Cobb will be a major threat as the slot receiver. He has real potential to upgrade that spot from Beasley, which isn’t a knock on Cole but the reality of Cobb’s talent.
Here is our projected depth chart for the Cowboys’ WR position in 2019. We’re going to treat the top three receivers as starters, since WR3 plays the majority of offensive snaps in the modern NFL.
- Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Randall Cobb
- Allen Hurns, Noah Brown, Tavon Austin
- Cedrick Wilson, Devin Smith, Lance Lenoir
- Jalen Guyton, Reggie Davis, Jon’Vea Johnson
As with most of the Dallas roster in 2019, we have a firm grip on who the starters are. But there’s a lot of competition for the bottom of the depth chart, and WR exemplifies that as well as any position on the team.
One guy who feels like a lock is Noah Brown, the 2017 7th-round pick who has proven himself a valuable special teams player with the potential for more. Brown’s physical receiving style has reminded us of a young Dez Bryant in his limited playing time, and he’s even shown enough power to be deployed as a small tight end in some situations.
On paper, veterans Allen Hurns and Tavon Austin would round out the WR depth chart. Hurns has the most experience as a former starting WR and offers security if Cooper or Gallup should go down. Austin has versatility, rare speed, and the special teams work as a return specialist to justify his presence.
But Hurns also has a $6.25 million cap hit that Dallas can shed $5 million of if he’s released. And Tavon’s value may take a big hit if rookie RB Tony Pollard steals his reps as the offensive gadget player and in the return game.
These veterans will have to fight for their spots. A prospect like Cedrick Wilson, who the team was high on in 2018 as a rookie but lost to injury, could easily challenge them. There’s also Lance Lenoir, who has return ability and has been with the team for two seasons.
Undrafted rookie Jon’Vea Johnson was one of the buzz names coming out of mini-camps and OTAs. If the praise continues now, Johnson could easily push his way onto the bottom of the roster. He appears to be a favorite of Cowboys WR Coach Sanjay Lal.
One more guy to watch is Devin Smith. He was a 2nd-round pick of the Jets in 2015 but has struggled with knee injuries the last few years. Dallas signed him last January as a reclamation project, and clearly there’s something there that once made him a Day 2 pick.
This is a loaded group at WR in 2019, which is great for the Cowboys and unfortunate for those who deserve a roster spot but won’t find one. Will the veterans like Hurns and Austin fight off the young guys, or will someone like Johnson be the next undrafted rookie to succeed in Dallas?
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