CFZ My Theory on Jalen Tolbert

[Hennessy_King]

Interesting concept that rookies have to be good in year 1 or they suck.

Good thing we didn’t give up on all the studs that weren’t great in year 1 over all these years.

Nah hes not good. If he couldnt get playing time with arguably one of the worst wr corps in the league. I dont think its happening. The kid didnt flash at all.

 

[cnuball21]

Nah hes not good. If he couldnt get playing time with arguably one of the worst wr corps in the league. I dont think its happening. The kid didnt flash at all.

Took Austin a few years to hit his stride
then he turned into a pro bowler before battling injuries.

 

[RonnieT24]

Took Austin a few years to hit his stride
then he turned into a pro bowler before battling injuries.

I will never understand the inability to grasp that players grow and develop at different rates. They're human beings to the desire to paint them all the same color with the same brush just makes no sense. Tolbert may or may not ever amount to anything.. but deciding which way his career is going to go after one season is just silly. This apparent need to "be right" about player evaluations will always be a mystery to me. I tend to just want to watch and see. Then analyze what happens as opposed to trying to predict it. But that's just me..

 

[Hennessy_King]

Took Austin a few years to hit his stride
then he turned into a pro bowler before battling injuries.

Not even close to the same. 1 austin was an udfa. 2nd austin was a playmaker on special teams kick returning his rookie year. He even housed one.

So i agree we shouldnt have spent a 3rd round pick on tolbert and had him sign as an udfa

 

[Hennessy_King]

I will never understand the inability to grasp that players grow and develop at different rates. They're human beings to the desire to paint them all the same color with the same brush just makes no sense. Tolbert may or may not ever amount to anything.. but deciding which way his career is going to go after one season is just silly. This apparent need to "be right" about player evaluations will always be a mystery to me. I tend to just want to watch and see. Then analyze what happens as opposed to trying to predict it. But that's just me..

3rd round picks at one of the worst position groups on your team, need to contribute year 1. This is a simple concept

 

[cnuball21]

Not even close to the same. 1 austin was an udfa. 2nd austin was a playmaker on special teams kick returning his rookie year. He even housed one.

So i agree we shouldnt have spent a 3rd round pick on tolbert and had him sign as an udfa

I hear ya - I expect more from a 3rd rounder too but sometimes it doesn’t work that way. I part part of this on coaching. I find it borderline impossible to believe he couldn’t have done what Noah did. Maybe they just didn’t want to deal with the rookie mistakes.

Regardless - I’m not giving up on him yet.

 

[fivetwos]

Like Kelvin Joseph at CB the year before, they forced position with this pick because they needed a WR.

They need to stop doing that.

 

[Rockport]

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.

Never thought he would be a day 1 starter. Rookie WR’s almost always struggle their first year.

 

[Hennessy_King]

Never thought he would be a day 1 starter. Rookie WR’s almost always struggle their first year.

Who said anything about starting. How about just get more than 2 catches for 12 yards. Maybe dont line up for a dumb penalty also helps

 

[XXLMike]

Theory ? He sucks it’s obvious.

 

[Risen Star]

My theory is that Tolbert mentally wasn't up to the change in level. I think he was completely overwhelmed, and I think he got down on himself to the point that he couldn't progress.

This offseason and camp will be telling for him. They can't expect he is going to be prominent in their plans given his struggles a year ago, so they need to address the position with multiple bodies to be safe, and anything that they get out of him is gravy.

Gravy is a great fit for McCarthy's offense.

 

[Retro88]

I like the kid and I hope he blows up this year.....but I'm still not going to camp without signing somebody and drafting somebody. Clock is ticking on this team and if hasn't hit midnight yet then it will soon

 

[Rockport]

Who said anything about starting. How about just get more than 2 catches for 12 yards. Maybe dont line up for a dumb penalty also helps

The OP did slick.

 

[Pass2Run]

I like the kid and I hope he blows up this year.....but I'm still not going to camp without signing somebody and drafting somebody. Clock is ticking on this team and if hasn't hit midnight yet then it will soon

That's kind of my point of the post.

They really do need to hit on a WR.

I'm thinking Josh Downs.

Subtle, but he'll be good.

 

[buybuydandavis]

I don't think anyone was saying that. Day 1 starter? Rookie 3rd round WR's just don't contribute that fast. Very unreasonable expectation.

Not so unreasonable considering he just had to beat out Brown to start the season, and by beat out I mean to be close enough to Brown not to be considered a liability.
We didn't start Brown because that's what the coaches preferred happened. We started him because Tolbert disappointed.

 

[Pass2Run]

Gravy is a great fit for McCarthy's offense.

You think he'll be good in McCarthy's offense? You could be right..

 

[RonnieT24]

3rd round picks at one of the worst position groups on your team, need to contribute year 1. This is a simple concept

So you made up this rule and any player who doesn't abide by it needs to be cut? Hell teams have first and second round picks who don't contribute in year one and they still hang onto them with the idea in mind that they can develop them. We all want every draftee to become an instant stud. But the sane among us know better.

 

[Verdict]

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

You would think that if they had judged Tolbert as a guy who wouldn’t see the field in his rookie year that the 3rd round was too early to take him, unless they think he is going to be the next Megatron. 1/4 of his rookie deal is over.

 

[Verdict]

So you made up this rule and any player who doesn't abide by it needs to be cut? Hell teams have first and second round picks who don't contribute in year one and they still hang onto them with the idea in mind that they can develop them. We all want every draftee to become an instant stud. But the sane among us know better.

You would expect a 3rd round pick to contribute on a team that doesn’t have a lot of talent at WR. If not then he was probably drafted too early.

 

[Verdict]

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

The projections are looking wrong so far, after the fact.