CFZ My Theory on Jalen Tolbert

[Carson]

So, instead of taking him in teh 3rd round, the Cowboys probably could have had him in the 6th or 7th round.

That’s not true. Every projection had him between rounds 2-4 depending on the site.

 

[CWR]

he will have a nice training camp I think. I like the kid. He seems smart and has his head right. I think he can replace Gallup at some point. Lets face it, that won't be very hard. MG hasn't been great.

This is the year we find out if Gallup is still the guy we hoped he'd be after the contract. Last year was all about recovery and returning to form. If he falters this year I personally won't be giving him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[quickccc]

After the 2022 draft, Dallas Cowboys fans fast-forwarded to the future, and Jalen Tolbert was the day 1 starter.

Now, in 2023, they rewind, and it just never came to be.

Most had high hopes for Tolbert going into preseason, so the question is: why?

Why didn't Jalen Tolbert win the starting spot in 2023.

In my opinion, it comes down to experience.

If you know about Tolbert's sports history, he mostly played baseball in his youth. It wasn't until the 11th grade that Tolbert started dabbling in football. During his freshman year, he tallied just 5 receptions for 60 years; his sophomore year he was 27 for 521; during his junior year he caught 64 passes for 1,085 yards, and ended his college career with 84 catches totaling 1,474 yards, according to sports-reference.com.

After the draft, we all heard about how Tolbert was a standout in camp. He probably was. Unless you don't believe the testimony of people attending camp. Then there was preseason. And we saw maybe a little glimpse of what Tolbert could do on a single pass play for 17 yards, I believe it was.

Then, he played a handful of plays versus the Bears, and it never really amounted to much. But if you consider he made a considerable leap every year in college, then it's reasonable to expect he might turn things around after an off-season in 2023.

It's not like he never got open. There were times when he was wide open, sometimes for a touchdown even. But Dak was often looking at something else on the field.. I look for Tolbert to be a bigger part of the offense next season if he can digest the playbook and the speed of the NFL.

McCarthy also told the media he had a hamstring issue, so maybe there was something to that. Or maybe there wasn't. Either way, while it's still too early to judge; it's likely also to risky to sit on your hands and avoid drafting a receiver in the 2023 NFL draft.

- Maybe he can turn it around…. but I’m not waiting for him, and certainly not bypassing WR for the sake of trusting Tolbert.
If he improves, he becomes an extra luxury. He becomes Cedrick Wilson at the least.

- Yeh, they botched the Gallup return.
Although Gallup "too early return" or not - never returned to form even at season’s end.

- The club totally placed and put all of their eggs in one basket with counting so heavily
on James Washington and rookie Jalen Tolbert to carry the load.

- Washington got hurt very early on.
And when he returned, apparently he was so terrible the club decided to cut him loose and turn to go on street to signing Hilton

- And Tolbert just never made his presence felt, whether summer or reg. season.
sorry but i never heard " stand out camp" buzz from him.

- Dunno if he was too tentative and soft , .. wasn’t in position he needed to be. ..wasn’t running the proper routes,.. or adjusting or reading coverages on the run,
But he was not hacking it,.. such that it was useless having him active in games

- To add more to it, he does not play special teams –more reason for game inactive.
No doubt there was something Cowboys liked ..enuff that they thought for sure he’d contribute this year.
Supposedly they had a 2nd rd grade on him per draft value board.

 

[CowboyoWales]

My theory is he wasn't physical enough. I tired to closely watch his very few reps and at times he sort of shied away from contact, or tried to block only very half-heartedly. And if you aren't physical, you don't have much use on special teams. Which means you're inactive every week.

Not sure how much that can be developed, either. He is pretty slight of build for an NFL player.

Interesting, but isn't Dak more comfortable throwing to separation rather than into contested situations.
Then again I thought one of the criticisms of Talbot was that he was slow on learning the play book.

 

[quickccc]

This is the year we find out if Gallup is still the guy we hoped he'd be after the contract. Last year was all about recovery and returning to form. If he falters this year I personally won't be giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe a full offseason and continued workout and a year remove could help Gallup off an ACL recovery year.

But just as i am not waiting on Tolbert,..I'm also not for waiting on Gallup either.
I'd love to come away with Two new WRs this offseason to upgrade the roster.

I actually would like to upgrade over Gallup too, as his poor routes, injury history has me on edge as it is.
Plus i really would like to have that over top of defense guy.

 

[visionary]

I’m hopeful he has learned and will be able to step up this year

 

[visionary]

Maybe a full offseason and continued workout and a year remove could help Gallup off an ACL recovery year.

But just as i am not waiting on Tolbert,..I'm also not for waiting on Gallup either.
I'd love to come away with Two new WRs this offseason to upgrade the roster.

I actually would like to upgrade over Gallup too, as his poor routes, injury history has me on edge as it is.
Plus i really would like to have that over top of defense guy.

Not realistic
At some point your investment has to pay off
We will sign OBJ and that’s it
Maybe a late round draft pick
Gallup and Tolbert will be expected to deliver as they should be

 

[quickccc]

My theory is he wasn't physical enough. I tired to closely watch his very few reps and at times he sort of shied away from contact, or tried to block only very half-heartedly. And if you aren't physical, you don't have much use on special teams. Which means you're inactive every week.

Not sure how much that can be developed, either. He is pretty slight of build for an NFL player, so maybe a year in the weight room will help some.

- Yep, Basically that lack of physicality and tentativeness wsa what i was seeing and hearing.

- Sure it was a matter of learning and adjusting to the NFL on a mental sense.
But it was discouraging that he was shying away from traffic contact, and not fighting for the ball on the outside.

- It matters the most to have a measure of competitiveness and courage as a WR.
An alpha dog mentality.

- No matter how mighty mouse small Cole Beasley was, his toughness, dog-bite competitiveness consistently showed up game in/out. every since
he entered the NFL.

Was that sumthin' that showed up (or overlooked?) on Tolbert's college game tape, but didn't translate to the NFL playing field ? .

 

[blueblood70]

After the 2022 draft, Dallas Cowboys fans fast-forwarded to the future, and Jalen Tolbert was the day 1 starter.

Now, in 2023, they rewind, and it just never came to be.

Most had high hopes for Tolbert going into preseason, so the question is: why?

Why didn't Jalen Tolbert win the starting spot in 2023.

In my opinion, it comes down to experience.

If you know about Tolbert's sports history, he mostly played baseball in his youth. It wasn't until the 11th grade that Tolbert started dabbling in football. During his freshman year, he tallied just 5 receptions for 60 years; his sophomore year he was 27 for 521; during his junior year he caught 64 passes for 1,085 yards, and ended his college career with 84 catches totaling 1,474 yards, according to sports-reference.com.

After the draft, we all heard about how Tolbert was a standout in camp. He probably was. Unless you don't believe the testimony of people attending camp. Then there was preseason. And we saw maybe a little glimpse of what Tolbert could do on a single pass play for 17 yards, I believe it was.

Then, he played a handful of plays versus the Bears, and it never really amounted to much. But if you consider he made a considerable leap every year in college, then it's reasonable to expect he might turn things around after an off-season in 2023.

It's not like he never got open. There were times when he was wide open, sometimes for a touchdown even. But Dak was often looking at something else on the field.. I look for Tolbert to be a bigger part of the offense next season if he can digest the playbook and the speed of the NFL.

McCarthy also told the media he had a hamstring issue, so maybe there was something to that. Or maybe there wasn't. Either way, while it's still too early to judge; it's likely also to risky to sit on your hands and avoid drafting a receiver in the 2023 NFL draft.

day 1 starter as a 3rd rounder? that would be poor expectation by a fan.. all players develop in different ways. i mean how are payers like Love, lance and super-duper high draft picks not playing either? years later still waiting. this is 3rd rounder and expectations should have NEVER been a day 1 starter. He will either develop or not, he not first round bust is he? as 3rd pick and i believe was low 3rd rounder, he either will ro won't develop and it happens all over the nfl and at least he wasn't a high draft pick with lofty expectations. that Zone issue , a fan issue, expectations are what they make of them but not expected period..

 

[Chuck 54]

Interesting, but isn't Dak more comfortable throwing to separation rather than into contested situations.
Then again I thought one of the criticisms of Talbot was that he was slow on learning the play book.

Dark threw into congestion too much this year lmao.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

It would not surprise me if this kid balls out in this new offense.........

 

[blueblood70]

Dark threw into congestion too much this year lmao.

when there nothing but congestion, that happens. Been proven already, the lack of separation, the play call routes far too close together by design or poor route running, or easy to read play calls ie 4 curls etc etc .BYE BYE MOORE lets stop blaming Dak for issues that came from lack of physicality or consistency in the run game and a OC that just didn't have great decisions and WRs who weren't running the routes properly creating congestion.

 

[Ekspozed]

After the 2022 draft, Dallas Cowboys fans fast-forwarded to the future, and Jalen Tolbert was the day 1 starter.

Now, in 2023, they rewind, and it just never came to be.

Most had high hopes for Tolbert going into preseason, so the question is: why?

Why didn't Jalen Tolbert win the starting spot in 2023.

In my opinion, it comes down to experience.

If you know about Tolbert's sports history, he mostly played baseball in his youth. It wasn't until the 11th grade that Tolbert started dabbling in football. During his freshman year, he tallied just 5 receptions for 60 years; his sophomore year he was 27 for 521; during his junior year he caught 64 passes for 1,085 yards, and ended his college career with 84 catches totaling 1,474 yards, according to sports-reference.com.

After the draft, we all heard about how Tolbert was a standout in camp. He probably was. Unless you don't believe the testimony of people attending camp. Then there was preseason. And we saw maybe a little glimpse of what Tolbert could do on a single pass play for 17 yards, I believe it was.

Then, he played a handful of plays versus the Bears, and it never really amounted to much. But if you consider he made a considerable leap every year in college, then it's reasonable to expect he might turn things around after an off-season in 2023.

It's not like he never got open. There were times when he was wide open, sometimes for a touchdown even. But Dak was often looking at something else on the field.. I look for Tolbert to be a bigger part of the offense next season if he can digest the playbook and the speed of the NFL.

McCarthy also told the media he had a hamstring issue, so maybe there was something to that. Or maybe there wasn't. Either way, while it's still too early to judge; it's likely also to risky to sit on your hands and avoid drafting a receiver in the 2023 NFL draft.

If you follow people who cover camp, he never really looked good.

He had a lot thrown at him and like you said he hasn't played a lot of football so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I will say I never liked the pick, reminded me too much of Gallup.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Dark threw into congestion too much this year lmao.

Yep and that's the point, we don't necessarily want/need a receiver who compete, if Dak's uncertain about throwing into the traffic. The point we were discussing is that Talbot was a slight smaller bodied receiver.....well so long as is able to learn the playbook and assuming his game's built on speed/separation he should be an ideal fit for Dak.

 

[CowboyoWales]

when there nothing but congestion, that happens. Been proven already, the lack of separation, the play call routes far too close together by design or poor route running, or easy to read play calls ie 4 curls etc etc .BYE BYE MOORE lets stop blaming Dak for issues that came from lack of physicality or consistency in the run game and a OC that just didn't have great decisions and WRs who weren't running the routes properly creating congestion.

Sensitivity alert.

 

[kskboys]

yes,agree. I have never understood all the unabashed MG luv here. The guy has flashed but never been consistent. Tolbert just needs to show anything SLIGHTLY BETTER than he, and the kid will get reps.

Gallup was a stud before getting injured.

 

[fivetwos]

They needed a first round type of WR, but they also needed Tyler Smith.

Tough when you only have one first round pick.

I just wish there was another way to acquire players.

 

[kskboys]

Tolbert lacks burst. That is most likely the problem.

Can he play at this level? I think he'll be a passable #2 type WR. In college, he simply used size and strength to bully the defender. Guess he found out that it's not the same horse in the NFL.

I think we overdrafted him a bit, but I do think he can be a useful player. That's only if he can learn to get open in the NFL, which is something he'll have to develop some brand new techniques for.

BTW, for those who don't understand physical skillsets and how they transfer, it's almost impossible to get open w/o burst at the NFL level. Tolbert most likely won't be able to consistently create enough separation to contribute at a high level.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

After the 2022 draft, Dallas Cowboys fans fast-forwarded to the future, and Jalen Tolbert was the day 1 starter.

Now, in 2023, they rewind, and it just never came to be.

Most had high hopes for Tolbert going into preseason, so the question is: why?

Why didn't Jalen Tolbert win the starting spot in 2023.

In my opinion, it comes down to experience.

If you know about Tolbert's sports history, he mostly played baseball in his youth. It wasn't until the 11th grade that Tolbert started dabbling in football. During his freshman year, he tallied just 5 receptions for 60 years; his sophomore year he was 27 for 521; during his junior year he caught 64 passes for 1,085 yards, and ended his college career with 84 catches totaling 1,474 yards, according to sports-reference.com.

After the draft, we all heard about how Tolbert was a standout in camp. He probably was. Unless you don't believe the testimony of people attending camp. Then there was preseason. And we saw maybe a little glimpse of what Tolbert could do on a single pass play for 17 yards, I believe it was.

Then, he played a handful of plays versus the Bears, and it never really amounted to much. But if you consider he made a considerable leap every year in college, then it's reasonable to expect he might turn things around after an off-season in 2023.

It's not like he never got open. There were times when he was wide open, sometimes for a touchdown even. But Dak was often looking at something else on the field.. I look for Tolbert to be a bigger part of the offense next season if he can digest the playbook and the speed of the NFL.

McCarthy also told the media he had a hamstring issue, so maybe there was something to that. Or maybe there wasn't. Either way, while it's still too early to judge; it's likely also to risky to sit on your hands and avoid drafting a receiver in the 2023 NFL draft.

so essentially you are saying we over drafted Tolbert, who should have been taken in the 6th or 7th round....

 

[cnuball21]

Sometimes rookie take a year or 2. Fans that are already calling him a bust are clueless.