The Cowboys wide receiver room is younger and more unproven than at any time in recent history. When you exclude 31-year-old Brandin Cooks, the Dallas receivers on the roster have an average age of 25.
We’re talking about guys that have little to no on-field experience in the NFL, like Jalen Brooks, Jalen Moreno-Cropper, and Ryan Flournoy.
Newly-retired former Cowboy, Michael Gallup, created a veteran absence in the room when Dallas parted ways with him this offseason. While it needed to happen, the front office’s failure to bring in a new veteran created this situation.
Just in: #Raiders WR Michael Gallup is retiring from the NFL. pic.twitter.com/ByVPkxDrOD
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 24, 2024
So, Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy are counting on one of these young guys making a name for themselves. The question is, who will it be?
The preseason, which starts for Dallas later today, is where that question will be answered. With that in mind, let’s talk about some of the contenders.
The Rookie in the Room
The aforementioned Flournoy has perhaps the most exciting future of any young player in the Cowboys wide receiver corps.
As a sixth round pick from Southeast Missouri State, it is safe to say he is unknown to the rest of the NFL world, but Cowboys fans have seen first-hand just how much potential he has.
He has been silky smooth in training camp, making play-after-play and performing like a veteran, not a late-round draftee.
Back when the Cowboys pulled the trigger on drafting Flournoy, the media picked up how Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter was backing him, and its becoming easy to see why the Vikings’ legend put stock in him.
#Cowboys The world gon know the name Ryan Flournoy I guarantee️- Cris Carter pic.twitter.com/aycVR5vTQ2
— Law Nation Sports (@LawsNation) April 29, 2024
As we head into the preseason, Flournoy has a chance to really put himself in contention for regular season snaps.
He will have to beat out Moreno-Cropper, Brooks, KaVontae Turpin, and lastly, Tolbert for the WR3 spot, and likely in that order, and that might be a tall order. Even if he can’t reach starter status yet, there is still a major opportunity at hand.
In sum, keep your eyes on Ryan Flournoy this preseason. He might just be the next special Cowboys wide receiver, and that could start as early as this year.
Year Two Breakout for Brooks
In as small a sample size as you can possibly have, Brooks flashed some serious potential in his rookie campaign last year.
The former South Carolina Gamecock, turned Dallas 7th-round pick, had six receptions on six targets for 64 yards in 2023. Like I said, that’s an incredibly small sample size for an NFL wide receiver.
That said, man, did he make some impressive plays in those six catches.
Rookie 7th round pick Jalen Brooks makes his first regular season catch as an NFL receiver. Nice cut to get the first down.#DallasCowboys @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/PELHVzJ1Nv
— Jeff Kolb (@JeffKolbFOX4) November 12, 2023
Jalen Brooks enters this season in a strong position to increase his workload; he has been in the offensive system, knows and has chemistry with Prescott, and, at 24 years old, should be progressing quickly.
He is entering the preseason slotted ahead of Flournoy on the depth chart, as he sits only behind CeeDee Lamb, Cooks, and Tolbert.
The Dallas coaching staff is not going to wait around forever for a 7th round guy, so this year will be critical for Brooks’ future as a Cowboys wide receiver. He needs to show this preseason that he is the leader of the young group in the receiver room.
Training Camp Standout
I’ve briefly touched on Moreno-Cropper here, but he deserves a whole lot more than that. Simply put, you want to talk about making a name for yourself in training camp? Play like Jalen Moreno-Cropper is playing.
An undrafted free agent signing for Dallas in 2023, Moreno-Cropper spent all of last year on the practice squad, and he is making quite the case that he should be on the active roster this time around.
This Fresno State turned Cowboys wide receiver has just made play after play after play in camp, and the media has taken notice.
Jalen Cropper is having yet another great day here at training camp #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/nDJRos15P4
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisDC) August 6, 2024
Moreno-Cropper performed well in his rookie-year training camp last season as well, but this is a whole different level.
He’s currently behind Tolbert, Turpin, and Brooks on the depth chart, but I see a world where he makes a huge impact this preseason. He has become both a reliable target and a big-play guy in camp, and that will be very useful to the backup QBs in-game.
Jalen Moreno-Cropper is certainly not a big name in the NFL or in the Cowboys wide receiver room yet, but if training camp tells us anything, that is going to change really soon.
