Months ago, before training camp, before OTAs, before the draft, anyone who covered the Cowboys, at some point, discussed the anticipated wide receiver battle that would take place at Cowboys training camp.
The assumption was that CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, and Michael Gallup would be the Big Three so to speak.
That meant Jalen Tolbert and Simi Fehoko would be battling for the WR4 spot.
A lot has happened since then, however.
Jalen Tolbert is walking, talking, and practicing with new levels of confidence and exactitude.
Coaches are singing Tolbert’s praises, and conversations on the topic suggest that he is battling for the WR4 spot against KeVontae Turpin.
So that means Simi is now 6th on the depth chart, right?
Well, maybe. But some argue that 7th round draft pick Jalen Brooks should be considered for a roster spot over Fehoko.
This time last year, there were a ton of questions about the Cowboys’ receiver room. It lacked depth, and there simply were not enough weapons to inspire any real confidence in the group.
This year, the Cowboys are dealing with a completely opposite situation at that position. They definitely have depth, and some might say there are literally more than enough weapons at Dak Prescott’s disposal.
Despite the competition taking place, the purpose of this piece isn’t to try to diminish other players.
It is to point out that the notion that Simi Fehoko cannot make contributions to this team is not as well founded as some pretend it is.
Some of the criticism against Fehoko has been outright disrespectful. It’s as though some observers are only highlighting one side of his training camp performance.
So let’s take a look at some of Simi’s ups and downs since the Cowboys arrived in Oxnard, starting with the latter.
THE DOWNS
Simi’s biggest mishaps during camp have occurred in the forms of dropped and intercepted passes.
The first one occurred on the first day of practice when he slipped and failed to bring in a pass from Dak Prescott. Rookie cornerback Eric Scott Jr. secured the tipped ball, and the clip went viral.
Even before training camp started, a lot of people already wanted Fehoko to be cut from the team. This tipped interception perfectly substantiated their confirmation bias.
It is also the opinion of this author that this one event would not have been so heavily discussed if not for the fact that Dak Prescott only days earlier had promised to eliminate tipped interceptions this season.
Simi Fehoko is no better or worse than any practice squad WR. Not every guy is a “project” that should have expectations of making an impact. Casual fans with blogs and podcasts man the game is crazy. https://t.co/uzYMwZtX7g
— tom stakes (@tomstakes) August 10, 2023
If that weren’t enough, early in the second week of training camp, Simi suffered a contact injury. During practice, he took a knee to the thigh, and it resulted in a quad contusion.
Quad muscles are responsible for knee extension. So things like running, jumping, and changing direction, you know, the things that are essential to a receiver’s job might have become difficult and/ or painful to execute.
Simi sat out for the remainder of practice the day the injury occurred. But in spite of the fact that most medical resources say quad contusions require a minimum of five days for recovery, Fehoko was back at practice two days later.
Still, Simi faced criticism for having been injured. I’ve had face-to-face conversations with people who judged him for lack of durability even though his last couple of injuries were the results of contact with another person and/ or the ground.
FACING TWO OF THE BEST
Since then, there have been a few more drops, though.
The way Simi’s drops are discussed on social media, however, makes it sound like far more than a few.
On Twitter/ X, posts about Simi’s drops receive four to ten times more engagement than posts about his catches and well executed plays.
This doesn’t change the fact that the drops happened, but it definitely changes public perception of his performance.
But despite the high amount of engagement on those posts, there’s very little discussion about the conditions that have led to Simi’s missteps.
A couple of interceptions were brought down by Eric Scott Jr. and Nahshon Wright. But several of Simi’s worst moments occurred when he was covered by either Trevon Diggs or Stephon Gilmore.
Diggs and Gilmore are arguably one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL right now.
Recently, Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb called Gilmore “the smartest DB [he’s] ever lined up against.”
Michael Gallup confirmed that Gilmore often verbally identifies receivers’ routes in real time.
And Gilmore himself actually thinks that Trevon Diggs has the potential to be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
Here’s why this is relevant.
If the Dallas Cowboys were facing a different team, and that team’s injured WR5/6 were matched up against Diggs or Gilmore, it would be expected for that receiver to be metaphorically eaten alive.
The picks would not be much of a surprise.
So maybe reactions to Fehoko’s lost battles against these two are a bit exaggerated.
THE UPS
Quiet as it’s kept, Simi Fehoko has also had some good catches. Even while injured, he’s shown the ability to overpower defenders and put himself in position to make catches even at the last second just before the ball is released.
A Simi Fehoko Appreciation Thread 🧵
This is the type of stuff I like to watch @Simi_Fehoko do.
I like when he can use his size and physicality to his advantage. 💪🏾The only reason I would ever want to see him go for deeper passes than this is bc he can jump pretty high, and I… pic.twitter.com/FewTmLYLCB
— Bitches Love Sports Podcast (@BtchesLuvSports) August 11, 2023
Simi has snatched balls out of the air and away from defenders. He’s used his size and physicality to make plays. He’s even adjusted to help his QB on a few occasions.
It’s a documented fact that most of the cornerbacks Simi Fehoko will face will not be as good as the ones that have consistently given him trouble in camp, and even those CBs did not win 100% of the time.
So if he were to get opportunities in any given game, we could expect to see far more of the good than the bad from Fehoko.
Dak escapes pressure, extends the play and hits Simi Fehoko on the cross route. This is how you help out the QB.
And nice toe drag swag as well. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Nuq1l8fuye
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) August 10, 2023
And it’s likely that we have yet to see Fehoko’s best.
If we go back just a couple of years and read Simi’s pre-draft scouting reports, we see that there was somewhat of a consensus about his strengths as an athlete.
SIZE AND ATHLETICISM
Almost every report mentions Fehoko’s size and athleticism as his biggest strengths. One report noted that he “creates ‘big slot’ matchup issues for smaller corners.”
Another said that he’s best on intermediate and vertical routes and “able to churn his feet over quickly despite his big frame that allows him to get in and out of breaks despite limited bend, and it allows him to consistently run shorter double-move routes from the slot position.”
They also mention his usefulness as a run blocker, his competitiveness in jump-ball situations, and his value to special teams.
We haven’t seen enough of any of those things so far during camp. But hopefully, these qualities will shine more during preseason games.
Without the scripted scenarios and lowered intensity of training camp, the instincts and in-game usefulness of some players becomes more apparent.
Simi Fehoko probably has the least amount of experience as a receiver out of anyone in the room. So, yes, he’s a raw route runner.
But coming from Stanford, coached by David Shaw, he has knowledge of and experience with the West Coast offense.
Additionally, he way he uses his body, his hand fighting, and his aggression to get to where he needs to be on short and intermediate routes can definitely serve as assets.
This is especially true on a team where the ball may need to come out quickly fairly often due to issues and questions on the offensive line.
Those run blocking skills may come in handy for the same reason.
POTENTIAL IMPACT
Simi himself told Kevin Gray earlier this year that he was looking forward to doing more as a blocker this season. We haven’t heard much about his use in that role during camp, but that doesn’t mean the role won’t exist.
If he really can make himself useful as a blocker and he can consistently position himself in ways that help his quarterback, why wouldn’t that be valuable considering everything we’ve heard about how the Cowboys offense will operate this year?
No receiver is perfect, and no Cowboys receiver has been perfect during camp. But no other receiver in the room has Simi’s size or his ability to use combativeness to his advantage.
That sets him apart.
If you think about it, at 6’4″, 220 lbs, Fehoko is actually just a couple of bulking cycles from being mistaken for a Cowboys tight end.
I’m not arguing that Simi Fehoko should be a starter or a central part of the offense. Even after the great camp he had last year, snaps and targets were few and far between once the regular season began.
But it’s not time to totally write him off as a practice squad guy or as a bad player.
If Fehoko’s strengths are used in the right way, by the time August 29th gets here, it’ll be clear why the Cowboys should keep him around.