Who will be #3 in receptions this season?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Barring injury of course Witten and Bryant are shoo-ins for the top 2 spots. What I am curious is who is going to rack up the 50+ catches that might be in store for our third receiver.

The candidates:

Demarco Murray: came in 3rd last season with over 50 catches and has become a reliable if not perfect option out of the backfield. He struggles a bit with the less than perfect pass. I think if he plays 16 games he has to be a favorite considering how often Linehan's offenses in the past have used the RB.

Terrence Williams: a tad soft at the point of catch but runs a multitude of routes with a multitude of releases well. He had over 40 catches last year and could be primed for a big step. . . or a sophmore slump.

Gavin Escobar - Used sparingly last season, he was a popular target with the 1's this past preseason with Romo looking to pass to him. While he only had 9 catches last season, 2 of them were for TDs.

Cole Beasley - Going to be asked to work more downfield after the litany of short routes he ran for 38 catches last year. Might even get a chance outside if circumstances call for it. Being the 3WR and not in the starting lineup makes this a longshot but his talent is obvious. Elite short area quickness and great hands are his game.

The rest: Lance Dunbar, Devin Street, Joe Randle, and James Hanna would requite an unexpected breakout to get anywhere close to 50 catches.

I am going to go with Escobar. I think we are going to run a lot of base offense as opposed to previous years and Escobar is going to shine in the middle of the field.

What say you?

 

[Future]

I think this is finally the year Witten isn't a shoo-in.

If Linehan is as creative as we think, Romo likes Beasley as much as he says, and Esco is a player, Witten is going to lose a lot of touches.

There's going to be a log jam between 2-4. IIt could be something like

Dez-90
Williams - 65
Murray - 60
Witten - 60
Esco/Beasley - 30

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

T Will

 

[blindzebra]

I think Witten's role will be reduced some and Dez will easily break the 100 catch mark.

For me I think we will have Dez than a cluster of players in that 40-75 catch range with Murray edging out Witten followed by Williams, Escobar and Beasley.

 

[guag]

Disagree about Witten being a shoe-in for top 2. Williams is too talented to not get more looks this season, and you also have to consider that guys like Escobar, Murray, and Dunbar will likely eat into Wittens totals too.

 

[lane]

dez ..95 or so

williams...75

escobar or beasley... 50

that's what i hope for..

 

[big dog cowboy]

I'm just going to enjoy the competition.

 

[dstovall5]

Escobar will be used as a Red Zone threat and Beasely will be used on critical 3rd downs. They both will be pretty much the odd man out with Dez, Williams, Witten, and Murray receiving the majority of the load. I think Murray will finish 3rd with around 65-70 receptions this year (Williams a close 4th), Linehan loves to utilize his RBs out of the backfield.

 

[guag]

As much as I love Witten - and I love me some Witten - it would actually be more beneficial for us if we can reduce Witten's catches. I know it sounds blasphemous, but hear me out. I'm talking about YAC. We probably have like 8 other guys on offense who would get better YAC totals than Witten, and the more of these guys that can prove to be consistent targets, the better. While Witten is amazing at getting separation, once he has the ball, you can usually count on 1-3 more yards after that. Down by the end zone? Witten and Dez all day. Otherwise, I'd be looking to get the ball in someone else's hands, assuming our other receivers can get open consistently.

 

[perrykemp]

IMHO T Williams needs to be the #2 WR in terms of receptions on this team. I think the coaching staff would be ecstatic with 2 x 1000 yard WRs in Dez and T Williams.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

I think it will be Williams as well, if he isn't 2nd. Witten's numbers are most likely to be reduced as well as Murray's as I see Escobar getting more work.

 

[Craig]

If he plays 14+ games, ill go with dunbar.

 

[TheEnigma]

I agree with others that Witten will not be the clear number 2 though he'll certainly be right there in the mix.

I think T-Will doesn't have the second most catches but will have the second most yards. I see him having a fairly high ypc.

As far as #2 in receptions goes, I'm going to say it will be the combination of Beasely/Escobar. On most offensive plays it will probably be one of the two players on the field and this will be a spot that Romo looks for often.

 

[theogt]

Williams, followed closely by Beasley. They're amazing talents for the 3rd and 4th best receiving options on the team.

 

[CATCH17]

Dunbar will catch 40-50 passes if he stays healthy.

 

[50cent]

Jason Witten if the Cowboys are serious about winning. Witten is what he is, a seam/red zone threat. Dez, Williams, Murray, Dunbar, Escobar and even Bease are more dangerous with the rock than Witten. Witten is the ultimate secret weapon. A vet that always gets open, but it's time to put the ball in our young guns hands. Williams has gotten open all preseason and although he slightly has better wiggle than Witten, hopefully he won't have to use it due to running by DBs.

Dez is dez and deserves to be option 1 every drop back with Williams/Murray/Dunbar/Bease/escobar being option 2.

Seriously, Witten is a great blanket but Romo shouldn't need a regular blanket with all of these weapons. Romo should have time to pick on any weakness our opponents have on defense and not force throws to Witten.

 

[Crad|e]

Witten should simply be put in goal-line situations ONLY.. his speed is way to slow for an nfl offense of our scheme. Impossible to predict how many receptions he will have but I agree with pretty much every poster.. the less Witten probably the better.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Witten is much more likely to catch 70 balls than either Murray or Williams. The last year Witten didn't catch 70 was the year Romo took over from Bledsoe. Since Romo has been starter, he has averaged nearly 90 catches.

 

[TheFinisher]

Yea crazy talk to think Witten won't catch a ton of passes again. That's Romo's comfort zone and he'll always look for him when things get tight.

 

[TheCount]

I'm just going to enjoy the competition.

Yeah. This is one of the few things on the team that fans should enjoy watching play out. I understand the point of the thread, but I'm not worried about ranking our playmakers on offense as long as they produce.