Dallas Cowboys insider praises rookie receiver Noah Brown
Is it inconceivable that a seventh round selection could crack the Dallas Cowboys stacked wide receiver corps? According to one insider, don’t count it out.
The Dallas Cowboys say they want to create competition at every position. Sometimes that’s simply lip service in order to reinforce a certain mentality. No one is coming in to threaten quarterback Dak Prescott‘s job or taking the starting roles from established stars like running back Ezekiel Elliott or wide receiver Dez Bryant.
But at some positions, competition during the Cowboys various offseason programs will determine who dresses out for that first game in early September against the New York Giants; and who is sitting at home watching it on television.
One area of severe competition is predicted to be at wide receiver. Once again a group of young, talented wide outs will try to crack the Cowboys roster at one of the most stacked positions in all of football.
Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley all enter 2017 stone cold locks to make the Cowboys final roster again this season. As Dallas only kept five receivers on their active roster last year, there may only be two remaining spots available for the taking this offseason. And that seems tragic.
With all the heat coming off of fourth round selection Ryan Switzer this offseason, you have to believe his spot on the depth chart is all but assured.
That means wide receivers Brice Butler, Lucky Whitehead, Andy Jones and rookie Noah Brown could all be competing for one open roster spot. At the most, two. Talk about creating competition.
And according to one Cowboys insider, don’t discount Brown making this Cowboys roster despite being the 239th player selected in the seventh round in this year’s NFL draft.
"“Noah Brown, boy, the size is impressive and how he can move running routes,” DallasCowboys.com columnist Mickey Spagnola told105.3 The Fan via the Dallas Morning News recently. “Let’s qualify this: They played against air [at rookie minicamp]. There was no offense vs. defense … Brown just looked powerful. I don’t think anyone should just take for granted that he’s an end-of-the-draft choice. I think guys like Lucky Whitehead and Brice Butler better be on spot when the competition begins.”"
The Cowboys need someone who can step up and replace Bryant in this lineup if needed. And the 6-foot-2, 222 pound rookie has the physical tools to do so. But the 19-year old Brown is also very young and very raw. Essentially drafted off his impressive physical tools and one four touchdown performance against Oklahoma last September, the former Ohio State Buckeye is all potential right now.
Like Jones before him, a developmental project like Brown could certainly benefit from spending some time on the Cowboys practice squad for a season or two. But at this point, it’s unclear if the talented prospect would even clear waivers.
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If Noah Brown shines in training camp and carries that momentum into the preseason, the Dallas Cowboys may be forced to keep the youngster on their active roster. That could be bad news for the immediate future of players like Butler, Whitehead and Jones in Dallas.