We all know the story, the Cowboys trade the 18th pick of the 2013 draft to the 49ers for the 31st pick in the first round and the 74th overall pick, in the third round. Fans react with the typical vitriol that comes with failed Cowboys drafts of the past. The Cowboys draft Travis Frederick with the 31st pick, and Cowboys fans react with the above mentioned vitriol. With the 74th pick, the Cowboys select Terrance Williams, the wide receiver from Baylor. Fans yet again rage over the fact the Cowboys didn't address the defense, reach of a pick, Jerry Jones should fire the GM, etc.
Fast forward to now – Travis Frederick makes the All-Rookie Team (the Niners pick in that trade, Eric Reid, makes the All-Rookie Team as well), and Terrance Williams ends up with 44 receptions for 736 yards and 5 touchdowns. While Eric Reid is a helluva player (at what was and still is a position of need for the Cowboys), it seems that those two picks were knocked out of the park. The offense should be a monster in 2014 with the help of those two.
Now it's time for me to focus on Williams.
Most rookie wide-outs struggle in their first year. There are obvious exceptions in recent times, Julio Jones' rookie year and most definitely Randy Moss' rookie year stand out to me. Comparative to other elite receivers wing-men, Williams' rookie year stacks up very favorably.
Just to name a few from the past few years:
[table id=24 /]
And just for fun, I looked up a great Cowboys wing-man from my youth.
Granted, I only provided a very small sample size of second wide-outs, but Williams had a pretty standout year. It can only be assumed he will improve upon last year. From all of the reports I've read he's gone from being a shy rookie to a vocal leader. He has also worked hard on his tendency to catch the ball with his body.
With Dez Bryant having another Dez-like year (in a contract year no less), Jason Witten being Jason Witten, also coupled with the emergence of a bulkier and more involved-in-the-game-plan Gavin Escobar, and perhaps Devin Street emerging as some sort of threat, this could be the year Williams and Dez take the next step into elite receiving tandem status.
This will be a very explosive offense this year that will hopefully take pressure off of a very inexperienced defense.
Can't wait for training camp.
