WR - how do you rank this year's group?

[CowboyRoy]

You are crazy if you think Beasley is the odd man out. He is our safety net and Sanjay Lal already has a plan brewing for him.

And Thompson will be our deep threat. He and Austin are the only deep threats we have so getting rid of Thompson doesn' make sense.

And regardless if twill's cut benefits us or not, it's still a possibility the cowboys continue to cut ties with the old baggage.

Twill has an injury and we don't know how his camp will go. I don't see the cowboys pressing to keep him just because they get nothing in return.

Keeping twill over Beasley in a no go, sorry lol.

 

[maryquality]

I hope he can be like Miles Austin, but WITHOUT the hamstring issues!!

 

[WillieBeamen]

Average to below average

Hurns- Average receiver that will now face #1 CBs

TWill- Average Receiver that is inconsistent catching the ball. Had 0 Tds in 2017

Beasley- Was MIA in 2017 because teams focused on stopping him

Gallup- Rookie

Austin- Jag thats never had over 500 yards in a season

Thompson- Jag


Unless Gallup comes in day 1 and produces, this is a below average group and we will have trouble throwing the ball

 

[Irvin88_4life]

You are crazy if you think Beasley is the odd man out. He is our safety net and Sanjay Lal already has a plan brewing for him.

And Thompson will be our deep threat. He and Austin are the only deep threats we have so getting rid of Thompson doesn' make sense.

And regardless if twill's cut benefits us or not, it's still a possibility the cowboys continue to cut ties with the old baggage.

Twill has an injury and we don't know how his camp will go. I don't see the cowboys pressing to keep him just because they get nothing in return.

Keeping twill over Beasley in a no go, sorry lol.

Yes Beasley with his 34 catches is so important for this team, how would we ever replace that production. Never had more then 75 catches, never had a 1,000 yards receiving, never had double digit TDs in a season. Yep he is just a superstar

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Average to below average

Hurns- Average receiver that will now face #1 CBs

TWill- Average Receiver that is inconsistent catching the ball. Had 0 Tds in 2017

Beasley- Was MIA in 2017 because teams focused on stopping him

Gallup- Rookie

Austin- Jag thats never had over 500 yards in a season

Thompson- Jag


Unless Gallup comes in day 1 and produces, this is a below average group and we will have trouble throwing the ball

You call Austin a JAG by saying he has never had over 500 yards receiving, Beasley barely had over 500 with 533. Other then that he has 1 season over 500 yards

 

[Whyjerry]

IMO Big changes were needed. Dooley was a good coach but the village idiot was running the show. That cancer is gone so hopefully the group productivity will improve. They should be a faster group. I think Hurns will provide the big bodied possession receiver you need. I believe Cole B will bounce back. Thompson will provide a deep threat. I also think Gallup was a steal. I see him making a big impact in Dallas. There are a lot of candidates to make the team and only 5/6 spots so I suspect the final group will hold a surprise or 2.

 

[CyberB0b]

Totally unproven at this point, but I like the potential there. I like the focus on guys who run solid routes. Combined with a coach like Lal who focuses on the nuances of the position, I think we will be fine.

 

[Stash]

I encourage anyone who is overly concerned with the wide receiver or TE position groups to give a concerted look at this:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2016.htm

Scrutinize it. Give it a long look.

See how 2016's 13-3 team got the job done.

Beasley was that team's leading receiver with 833 yards. Does that look like a huge bar to hit?

Bryant chipped in 800 yards and Williams had 600.

Witten accounted for 673 yards and all of the other TE's combined for about 100 more.

That's diversification if I've ever seen it. With a complete lack of anyone being dominant. And that's exactly what you should expect to see in 2018.

And you should now feel much better about the "standards" that need to be met for this team to succeed. The key is getting Elliott and that running game humming along to the tune of 1,600 yards-plus and leading the league by over 300 yards.

That's what they need to get back to. If that happens, the rest should take care of itself.

But again, the bar for team success for the current receivers and TE's isn't very high at all.

 

[SoupcanSam]

Yes Beasley with his 34 catches is so important for this team, how would we ever replace that production. Never had more then 75 catches, never had a 1,000 yards receiving, never had double digit TDs in a season. Yep he is just a superstar

So are you really about to sit up here and act like it wasnt the gameplanning and bad coaching as a reason Beasley had a down year? Because you and I both know what Beasley is capable of and the cowboys didn't bring in a new WR coach just for kicks.

Funny how you bash Beasleys stats but don't bring up twill's drops and bad body catching. And twill also didn't have a lights out year, just in case you missed 2017!

 

[Daillest88]

Beasley is capable of having over 700 yards, Hurns if he remains healthy can put up 800 yards, Gallup will have over 800 yards this year and 8 tds, I think Wilson will actually be the sleeper in this receiving core, he will put 400 plus yards, Williams will have somewhere near 500 yards, I really believe we are going to spread the ball around as much as possible, it’s hsrder for defenses to focus on a certain player, plus we have the advantage, if we really are getting creative on offense , defenses won’t know how to prepare for us. Dallas offense line will be as good if not better than 2016 , La el Collins will make a huge jump this year, he’s not facing 4 out of 5 of the top rushers in the league and this will be his second year as a starting RT, Ezekiel is just focused. Big year for this offense

 

[Bullflop]

I think the entire staff would be challenged by last years disaster. Most certainly Linhand
and the new assist offensive coaches have something to prove.
I always give the mid point of the season for the top couple of draftees to find their footing and help the team come together.
I'll take 4/4 to the mid way point then close out the season qualifying for the tournament.

I surely don't know what to predict at the midway point of the season other than to hope we glean the most out of the newbies that we possibly can. It'd be outstanding if we could get a 5-3 rather than a 4/4 at midseason but rookies really do need some leeway to adjust. Their development as the season wears on should ideally result in a fairly optimistic number of wins, as long as health and proper development prevails. I'm really hoping the improvement to be had in our newly-acquired talent levels qualifies us for the playoffs. Beyond that, may the football gods be appropriately be on our side. We've had an exceptional draft. Here's hoping we'll very deservedly make the very most of it.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

I think you can make an argument without much effort that our WR group is bottom-10 in the league (same for our TE group). It takes some mental gymnastics to think it's better than league average. I don't know if we will be better than last season, but I don't think we'll be worse.

 

[ShiningStar]

Lets ask this question

Do you think defense coordinators are scared?

Spoiler alert, no.

 

[GORICO]

So I was thinking back historically and frankly the last time heading into a season I was this down on our WR group had to be 2009. Before Miles Austin emerged in the KC Chiefs game, we had Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton.

I hope Michael Gallup can be the equivalent of a Miles Austin and break through, but as of now I'm not loving it. I also still don't know why Switzer had to be traded, he was developing nicely.

Hurns, Beasley, Williams, being our key 3 targets with Gallup developing and Tavon Austin as a wildcard isn't terrible, but it isn't great. I believe 2009 is a fair comparison - and given our 11-5 record that season, this could be a good omen.

...to be honest i am excited...no there is no real #1 threat to scare defenses...but we are focusing on good route running to create separation and that worked like a charm for Jerry Rice...i just dont know if Dak has ability to scan field in timely manner to find open receiver?....he missed so many open receivers last year...yes he was hearing footsteps undoubtedly...but if they can help Dak feel more relaxed and hopefully get his confidence back ..that along with....Daks persistent and tenacious nature....who knows?..we might see in year 3 a cowboy rejuvinated passing game??

 

[nathanlt]

This group is certified UNPROVEN.

Likely below average, but they all know it, and will work hard to overcome the label. If hard work is genuinely in place, the new receivers coach will get production out of them..

 

[ghst187]

I think Dak may be better when he’s not forcing the ball to Dez. He looked better when Dez was out and he was just making it look like easy to find someone open every play. When Dez was on the field it felt like Dak thought he had to force it to Dez every few plays like a quota.
I felt better knowing Dez was on the field and could make a big play at any point but I think we will ultimately be better with the committee we have if the coaches do a good job and Dak gets comfortable with some of them. We know what we have in Bease and TWill, I’m excited about Hearns and Gallup and the defense not knowing who to key on. For all his declining abilities, have to say Witten was a comfortable blanket out there too. I think the TE situation is the most unsettling. You know NYG fans are relieved that JW is finally gone. I’d really love to see Rico get it figured out and we see the flashes of last preseasons dominance that got us excited about him.
However realistically, I think we will be fortunate to see any above average TE play this season.
Coaches and fans can be excited about any young player but replacing quite possibly the greatest TE to ever play the game just isn’t going to be the same.
All the above said, I think a healthy Tyron and good, consistent OL play this year will be what propels is to a great year, Zeke looking amazing again, Dak looking franchise and distributing the ball, and protecting a young but developing defense. Our rd 2 pick playing at a high level and Tyron’s back are the keys to this season IMO. That pans out, our Wr cadre looks fine.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Also I'd like to see the Cowboys use Zeke a little more often as a receiver.

The story when we drafted Zeke was that his receiving skills are what made him a truly special back, worthy of the 4th pick.

Compared to other top backs, we don't make use of Zeke's receiving skills. Throwing to Zeke should be an extension of our run game. Just another form of play action to hold the dline. No better way to slow down a rush than to throw quick passes right past it. If DEs want to run right by Zeke, let them, and throw the ball to him.

I'd *rather* have Zeke get touches where DBs have to tackle him instead of the dline.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

So are you really about to sit up here and act like it wasnt the gameplanning and bad coaching as a reason Beasley had a down year? Because you and I both know what Beasley is capable of and the cowboys didn't bring in a new WR coach just for kicks.

Funny how you bash Beasleys stats but don't bring up twill's drops and bad body catching. And twill also didn't have a lights out year, just in case you missed 2017!

Then perhaps we shouldn't have changed anything then. Bring back Dez, bring back Witten, bring back Switzer, bring back Butler. They only had a down year because of game planning and bad coaching. Say what you want but Williams still caught more passes and produced more yardage then Beasley or does your excuses not work for the other players, just Beasley

 

[CATCH17]

Our WR group is one of the worst groups on paper in the entire league.

Does it matter?

Not if the scheme and QB play is good.

 

[buybuydandavis]

I think Dak may be better when he’s not forcing the ball to Dez. He looked better when Dez was out and he was just making it look like easy to find someone open every play.

I worry a little that we're just trading one set of problems for another.

Instead of wrs who can beat zone but not man, we'll have wrs who can beat man but not zone.

The natural counter to a good route running team is to play zone.