Dez Bryant says he’s ready to bounce back in a big way. The three-time Pro Bowl is available and campaigning for a new team. “I will be a steal wherever I go,” Bryant posted on his Twitter account yesterday. “Bet on it.”
On Tuesday, he posted, “I wish people could hear the roar in my voice as I write this ... I’m going to light some sh-t up this year I’m excited!!!!!!!”
But are any teams interested in Bryant? He’s 30, but he seems older. He’s lost a lot of speed. When he was last playing with the Cowboys, he was struggling to get much separation. Bryant is big (6-2, 220), but it’s tough when too many passes turn into contested situations.
The Cowboys released him at the end of the 2017 season and had no interest in bringing him back, even at a lesser salary. The Saints signed him during the 2018 season, but he injured an Achilles during his second practice and never played for them.
New Orleans has a couple of young receivers who look like they’ll stick around – TreQuan Smith and Keith Kirkwood. Those guys might extinguish any lingering interest in re-signing Bryant.
While Bryant is big, the Cowboys were unable to harness that size around the end zone. In his last three years there, they threw him 26 passes when they inside the 10-yard line. Only 7 of those passes (including 6 TDs) were caught.
Over the last four years, 32 players have seen at least 25 targets inside the 10. Bryant has been the least effective of those guys, scoring on only 23 percent of his pass plays inside the 10.
| RECEIVING INSIDE 10 (2015-18) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | No | TD | 2pt | Pct |
| Jordan Reed, Was. | 26 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 57.7% |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B.-Oak. | 29 | 21 | 15 | 1 | 55.2% |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 35 | 22 | 15 | 3 | 51.4% |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 35 | 26 | 17 | 0 | 48.6% |
| Alshon Jeffery, Chi.-Phi. | 27 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 48.1% |
| Zach Ertz, Phi. | 28 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 46.4% |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 26 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 46.2% |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 46 | 26 | 18 | 3 | 45.7% |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 31 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 45.2% |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 25 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 44.0% |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak.-Bal. | 37 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 43.2% |
| Allen Robinson, Jac.-Chi. | 35 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 42.9% |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 40 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 42.5% |
| Delanie Walker, Ten. | 26 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 42.3% |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 37 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 40.5% |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 30 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 40.0% |
| Jimmy Graham, Sea.-G.B. | 30 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 40.0% |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 38 | 21 | 13 | 2 | 39.5% |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 28 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 39.3% |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 26 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 38.5% |
| Antonio Gates, LAC | 34 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 38.2% |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 29 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 37.9% |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia.-Cle. | 45 | 28 | 15 | 2 | 37.8% |
| Eric Decker, NYJ | 25 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 36.0% |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den.-Hou. | 35 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 34.3% |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 40 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 32.5% |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 29 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 31.0% |
| Marvin Jones, Cin.-Det. | 27 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 29.6% |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 28 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 28.6% |
| Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dal. | 26 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 26.9% |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 37 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 24.3% |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 26 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 23.1% |
On the chart here, you're seeing targets, completions, touchdowns and 2-point conversions. The NFL doesn't consider 2-point conversions to be official plays. The yards and catches don't count in the league totals. But they're telling and meaningful, so I'm leaving them in there. —Ian Allan