The chances of Jalen Tolbert putting up viable numbers, especially early in the season, seem to be improving. James Washington (the other big wide receiver addition by the Cowboys in the offseason) left practice today with what appears to be a sprained ankle.
Washington’s foot got caught under a teammate as he was falling to the ground, and he was carted off. If it’s a high-ankle sprain, he potentially could be sidelined until mid-September. There’s no timetable on him yet, but it’s looking like he’ll miss at least some time.
It’s just the latest in a series of blows to the position group for the Cowboys. Earlier in the offseason, they traded Amari Cooper and watched Cedrick Wilson sign with Miami. And Michael Gallup is trying to come back from a torn ACL; he said last week that it’s not realistic to hope for him to be ready for Week 1.
All of which is making Tolbert look like a promising rookie. They drafted him in the third round, and he was an effective deep threat at South Alabama. He caught 82 passes for 1,474 yards and 8 TDs last year, averaging 18 yards per catch. The previous season, he caught 64 for 1,085, also with 8 TDs. Tolbert accounted for almost half of that team’s receiving yards last year.
Tolbert didn’t put up eye-popping numbers at the combine, running a 4.49, with a 36-inch vertical and a 10-foot-3 in the broad jump. But those are good numbers, and he’s shown some ability to play the game.
With the injury situation around him, things are set up nicely for Tolbert to make an impact early in the season. Definitely a player to watch in August. If the Cowboys don’t like what they see, they potentially could look to add another wide receiver. Will Fuller is available, and he’s been a top-level deep threat in the past. If the Dolphins want to eat some of the $12.7 million in guaranteed money they gave to Wilson, I wonder if the Cowboys would be willing to take him back?
There will be some good receiving games in Dallas, and the only proven, unblemished receiver they have coming back is CeeDee Lamb.
Dallas’ four big receivers combined for 30 games last year with at least 10 PPR points. Two thirds of those were authored by receivers no longer on the team.
For context, Michael Pittman finished with the 25th-best per game numbers last year in PPR, averaging 14.0 per game. I snuck him onto the list.
| NOTABLE GAMES BY DALLAS RECEIVERS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Wk | Opp | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR |
| Amari Cooper | 1 | at T.B. | L 29-31 | 13 | 139 | 2 | 38.9 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 6 | at N.E. | W 35-29 | 9 | 149 | 2 | 36.1 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 18 | at Phi. | W 51-26 | 5 | 119 | 2 | 28.9 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 10 | Atl. | W 43-3 | 6 | 94 | 2 | 28.6 |
| Amari Cooper | 8 | at Min. | W 20-16 | 8 | 122 | 1 | 26.2 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 1 | at T.B. | L 29-31 | 7 | 104 | 1 | 23.4 |
| Amari Cooper | 16 | Was. | W 56-14 | 7 | 85 | 1 | 21.5 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 13 | at N.O. | W 27-17 | 7 | 89 | 0 | 19.2 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 5 | NYG | W 44-20 | 4 | 84 | 1 | 18.8 |
| Amari Cooper | 19 | S.F. | L 17-23 | 6 | 64 | 1 | 18.4 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 17 | Ari. | L 22-25 | 6 | 35 | 1 | 17.5 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 8 | at Min. | W 20-16 | 3 | 84 | 1 | 17.4 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 12 | L.V. | L 33-36 | 7 | 104 | 0 | 17.4 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 2 | at LAC | W 20-17 | 8 | 81 | 0 | 17.4 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 8 | at Min. | W 20-16 | 6 | 112 | 0 | 17.2 |
| Amari Cooper | 14 | at Was. | W 27-20 | 5 | 51 | 1 | 16.1 |
| Amari Cooper | 4 | Car. | W 36-28 | 3 | 69 | 1 | 15.9 |
| Michael Gallup | 12 | L.V. | L 33-36 | 5 | 106 | 0 | 15.6 |
| Amari Cooper | 5 | NYG | W 44-20 | 3 | 60 | 1 | 15.0 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 14 | at Was. | W 27-20 | 7 | 61 | 0 | 14.6 |
| Michael Gallup | 13 | at N.O. | W 27-17 | 5 | 36 | 1 | 14.6 |
| M.Pittman (avg) | -- | -- | -- | 5.2 | 63.6 | .37 | 14.0 |
| Amari Cooper | 18 | at Phi. | W 51-26 | 5 | 79 | 0 | 12.9 |
| Michael Gallup | 17 | Ari. | L 22-25 | 3 | 36 | 1 | 12.6 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 19 | S.F. | L 17-23 | 5 | 62 | 0 | 11.2 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 4 | Car. | W 36-28 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 11.0 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 15 | at NYG | W 21-6 | 6 | 50 | 0 | 11.0 |
| Michael Gallup | 14 | at Was. | W 27-20 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 11.0 |
| Amari Cooper | 17 | Ari. | L 22-25 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 10.8 |
| Amari Cooper | 6 | at N.E. | W 35-29 | 5 | 55 | 0 | 10.5 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 16 | Was. | W 56-14 | 4 | 66 | 0 | 10.4 |
—Ian Allan