The third-round pick out of South Alabama has been a healthy scratch in all but one game this season for the Cowboys. I try to stay on top of any news that may suggest the reason Jalen Tolbert is simply becoming a regular inactive. Even before the return of Michael Gallup against Washington in week four, Tolbert was only active against the Giants.
The reason he may have been active in week three could have been because both Gallup and Dalton Schultz were out, and the team was desperate for pass catchers. Even then, he only caught one pass for four yards.
My prediction going into this season was that he would sit as the WR2 until Gallup returned. That role has gone to Noah Brown, who has been incredible to start the season.
Tolbert was a top-100 pick; you would like to think he should be on the field if he is not injured.
Maybe Tolbert is just behind in trying to pick up the offense, and if that is the case, perhaps the Cowboys and Kellen Moore can feature a package that will work for him. Even if he plays a minor role, as we saw against New York, you are getting him on the field to let him gain some confidence, at the least.
We aren’t around the team daily or in practice to know what may be going on. It is starting to feel like with Gallup’s return and Simi Fehoko being able to produce on special teams, it might be a long shot to see much from him again this season. That is unless Tolbert makes a considerable leap from now until the end of the season.
When you think about it, the Cowboys will most likely dress five wide receivers for the remainder of the season—the main three in CeeDee Lamb, Gallup, and Brown as the pass catchers. KaVontae Turpin and Fehoko are two others who spend most of their time on special teams, and Turpin is the return specialist for the Cowboys; we all know that.
Fehoko, on the other hand, although he has played in all four games, has not started any and found little production outside of a special teams player. He has only caught three passes for 24 yards.
I thought Tolbert would make an impact after he was drafted; Dak Prescott spoke highly of him during camp, and maybe we will see him active this week, who knows.
If I had to guess, the only way we would see him active again with Gallup returning is if Dallas got hit by the injury bug again, like in week three, resulting in the lack of pass catchers.
Sometimes players gel into a player when you least expect it. Outside of a few, not many thought Brown would be this good to start the year; I know I didn’t, and that is how it happens sometimes. Maybe Tolbert finds himself active one of these next few weeks and breaks a big play to get his career rolling; I would like to see it happen.