Cowboys' Schottenheimer: Jalen Tolbert's 'incredible camp' thanks in part to new WR

[zekecowboy]

Jalen Tolbert caught just two balls for 12 yards in 2022. That’s a far cry from what fans and coaches alike were hoping for when the team used a third-round draft pick on the wide receiver out of South Alabama.

Tolbert, however, has already started to flip the script. And for his second season, he’s got a co-author.

“Jalen Tolbert’s had an incredible camp,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer told reporters Thursday. “And if you talk to Jalen, what Jalen’s going to tell you is he’s spent a ton of time with Brandin.”

That would be Brandin Cooks, the veteran entering his tenth season and his fifth NFL locker room. The Cowboys traded for Cooks in March, and while early reports are that he’ll open up the deep-ball passing attack for Dak Prescott & Co., it’s quickly becoming clear that he’s also wasted no time establishing himself as a mentor for the younger members of the Dallas wide receiving corps.

Tolbert says the first lesson he got from Cooks was how to put a lackluster 2022 behind him.

“Flush it. Flush it,” Tolbert says Cooks told him, per the team website. “He’s obviously been in the league for a long time, and I was disappointed about last year. I went through what I went through last year, and he asked me about it. We talked about it, and then he told me to flush it. He said he sees a lot in me, so flush [last year], have fun, continue to grow and take the [Year 2] jump.”


https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/20...tolbert-brandin-cooks/?itm_source=parsely-api

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Cooks really seems to be a great teammate. It’s wild how many teams he’s been on while being productive.

 

[zekecowboy]

Cooks really seems to be a great teammate. It’s wild how many teams he’s been on while being productive.

Article also tells how TY Hilton helped him towards the end of last year. Its hard to believe that the
coaches are partially to blame since Tolbert was overwhelmed. I am rooting for Tolbert to have
a much better year.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Tolbert says the self-scouting actually started last season, while he was still in the middle of feeling overwhelmed by his head-spinning introduction to the pro game.

Now that the truth has come out about what happened I'm so pissed off at the WR coach and Moore and even Big Mike.

Thankfully all that is in the past and it's time to for him to make plays. Overall the WR corp is so much better than a year ago it's ridiculous.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Now that the truth has come out about what happened I'm so pissed off at the WR coach and Moore and even Big Mike.

Thankfully all that is in the past and it's time to for him to make plays. Overall the WR corp is so much better than a year ago it's ridiculous.

What exactly did they do wrong though? From my understanding they treated him and Dennis Houston the same way and Tolbert just couldn’t handle it.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Been saying don't sleep on this kid.....simply put, he had no clue last season but you can tell he was hard on himself. Always said, give me a hard-working player that's coachable, and they will find snaps for him.

 

[Techsass]

What exactly did they do wrong though? From my understanding they treated him and Dennis Houston the same way and Tolbert just couldn’t handle it.

Different people handle stress differently. Heck Beasley flat out quit the team.

 

[Rockport]

What exactly did they do wrong though? From my understanding they treated him and Dennis Houston the same way and Tolbert just couldn’t handle it.

They were trying to get him to learn all the WR positions as a rookie. Not very smart if you ask me.

 

[btcutter]

I hope he can be successful. But I will have to see it translate to regular season before I can believe it.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Different people handle stress differently. Heck Beasley flat out quit the team.

I get it but at what point is that the players problem?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

They were trying to get him to learn all the WR positions as a rookie. Not very smart if you ask me.

I honestly can’t say so was this foreign to other receivers? Do teams not do this with their receivers?

 

[McKDaddy]

What exactly did they do wrong though? From my understanding they treated him and Dennis Houston the same way and Tolbert just couldn’t handle it

From my understanding, they just kept dumping more on him without regards for whether he had shown comfort with the previous assignment.

People all learn differently and coaches should be very aware of when they are overloading a young player and know when to dial it back or take a new approach to get him comfortable with one level before proceeding to the next.

 

[jazzcat22]

WR's need more time to learn playing in the NFL more so tan other players. Often 3 years, like Landry's rule of thumb for all players.
However with colleges running pro style offenses and defenses for the past 30 years, many players are ready quicker as they need to be in the FA era.

But WR is still harder to grasp in the NFL. Let's see the progress he has this year.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

From my understanding, they just kept dumping more on him without regards for whether he had shown comfort with the previous assignment.

People all learn differently and coaches should be very aware of when they are overloading a young player and know when to dial it back or take a new approach to get him comfortable with one level before proceeding to the next.

Still doesn’t make sense to me how they thought a 3rd round pick shouldn’t be brought in easy but he should have a lot thrown on him and when it was too much he just failed. Seems like a fail by everyone.

 

[NotForLong]

WR's need more time to learn playing in the NFL more so tan other players. Often 3 years, like Landry's rule of thumb for all players.
However with colleges running pro style offenses and defenses for the past 30 years, many players are ready quicker as they need to be in the FA era.

But WR is still harder to grasp in the NFL. Let's see the progress he has this year.

The talent in the WR room was lacking and that may have contributed to added pressure. . . this year anything He can contribite is gravy

Of course He has to show something to justify a rostor spot but 3 years is the rule as you have noted . . . One thing we as fans can not factor in is Personality types. Being too hard on oneself can crush someone. Thankfully Cooks is here to help calm his mind and give him a newfound Comfort Level

And as many are pointing out . . . The change in scheme may benefit his skill set

 

[Hennessy_King]

I'll believe it when I see it. I never take the camp hype serious

 

[BleedSilverandBlue]

I honestly can’t say so was this foreign to other receivers? Do teams not do this with their receivers?

Not every receiver is a 3rd rounder from South Alabama. All of these guys come into the league with a different level of ability in actually understanding the game. Tolbert obviously had a much steeper learning curve, but considering that he is a mid-round rookie out of the Sun Belt Conference, it may have been wise to be a little more patient with him than to expect him to contribute immediately.

If he can put up 500 yards and 4-6 TDs this season, I would consider his second year a success.

 

[Bobhaze]

What exactly did they do wrong though? From my understanding they treated him and Dennis Houston the same way and Tolbert just couldn’t handle it.

All players have both physical and mental strengths. Sometimes, really talented players get down on themselves mentally and it translates to poor play on the field. The mental side of the game is often underestimated in how much it plays a role in any player’s performance.

Occasionally, a really gifted athlete gets down mentally and find it hard to get out of that rut. I’m thrilled to hear that Tolbert has rebounded. He still has to prove it when it counts. But I’m glad to hear he’s seemingly turned a corner mentally. The physical skills were always there.

 

[McKDaddy]

Occasionally, a really gifted athlete gets down mentally and find it hard to get out of that rut.

Mentality is absolutely a huge component. As someone who always expected myself to perform at a high level, when I didn't it was easy to get down on myself. Never more true than an individual sport like golf. When I (finally!!) learned to understand every shot wasn't going to be perfect and to laugh about outright horrible shots, I became a much better player.

Once you accept that there are going to be mistakes and your mindset isn't destroyed then you can get about minimizing the impact of those mistakes.

 

[KJJ]

Hard to take away much from mini camp. We’ll find out if he’s made any strides in training camp and preseason.