As you should all know by now, the Dallas Cowboys traded for George Pickens last Wednesday, giving Dallas a major lift in a spot that they left blank after the NFL draft.
With that beef up, it will drop everyone else down a spot, but that is okay. I really like what this trade should do for Jalen Tolbert.
He is a guy who showed real improvement last season, but maybe a year too early for him to be WR2 on this team.
With a running back by committee type look, there is no reason to not think that Tolbert could and should have a better year than he did in 2024.
Cowboys WR room is now led by CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. The others:Jalen Brooks, Parris Campbell, Ryan Flournoy, Kelvin Harmon, Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Cropper, Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin.
Only Lamb, Pickens and Turpin are guaranteed to be roster in 2025.
Maybe…— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) May 7, 2025
Outlook
After spending a couple of of years behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, he now gets to have Pickens.
The 26-year-old should have the leg up for the WR3 job after a career year in 2024 in which he set career-highs in catches (49), targets (79), receiving yards (610) and touchdowns (seven) in 17 games (15 starts).
Are people really saying that they should cut Tolbert? Like he put up some really good numbers with Cooper Rush as his QB for 95% of the year. He led the team in touchdowns.
They re-signed KaVontae Turpin and said some nice things about getting him involved in the offense, but realistically, he’s there mostly for special teams (31 catches last year).
Remember they also have Jonathan Mingo, but in two seasons has caught fewer than half the passes thrown his way, averaging 2 catches per week, and is still looking for his first NFL touchdown.
#Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert finished the 2024 season with 610 yards and 7 TDs.
And I have no idea what to think about him.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 6, 2025
No chance I am letting a guy who put together 610 yards with backup QBs as season ago.
This trade does nothing but good things for Tolbert and his outlook in the offense as we enter the 2025 season.
Other wide outs on the roster are Ryan Flournoy (a sixth-rounder last year) and Jalen Brooks.
Last year, Tolbert had at least 4 passes thrown his way 11 times.
He finished with double-digit points (PPR) in seven of those games, 12-plus in five of them. Just four games with more than 3 receptions, but he was pretty good at turning his chances into scores — he caught 7 touchdowns. Kind of seems like they should use him a little more.
JALEN TOLBERT WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/HJgfCeJ6h2
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 7, 2024
Let’s hope everyone stays healthy and on the same page, because maybe if Pickens can kick the attitude he has been labeled with, he now gets to play with the best offense and quarterback he has seen since he entered the league.
