Will the Dallas Cowboys carry six wide receivers on the final roster?
By Carl Daley
The Dallas Cowboys have a dogfight at the wide receiver spot as multiple players are looking to land on the 53 man roster. Here is who is winning the race.
The Dallas Cowboys will have some big decisions to make in the coming weeks ahead as preseason begins to wrap up. One of those questions is which wide receivers make the 53 man roster?/How many receivers will make the squad?
The answer to that is complicated and relies heavily on a number of different situations, specifically depth at quarterback and tight end. First, let’s look at the numbers.
Noah Brown: 4 receptions, 60 yards, 15 yards per catch, 20 yards per game, touchdown, fumble
Lance Lenoir: 4 receptions, 51 yards, 12.8 yards per catch, 17 yards per game, TD
Andy Jones: 6 receptions, 50 yards, 8.3 yards per catch, 16.7 yards per game, 0 TDs
Brian Brown: 9 receptions, 78 yards, 8.7 yards per catch, 26 yards per game, 0 TDs,
Uzoma Nwachukwu: 5 receptions, 54 yards, 10.8 yards per catch, 18 yards per game, TD
Now as we can see, the player that racks up the yards and targets for the second and third team is Brian Brown. He is seemingly backup quarterback, Cooper Rush’s favorite target as the team moves down the field.
Although he has no touchdowns, Brown almost has 30 yards more than his opponents. A touchdown could solidify his claim to make this roster.
Next up is the other Brown, Noah. He has had a mixed bag of highlights, but let’s start with the bad. He has fumbled and seems to struggle with focusing on ball security. He also had a pretty terrible unnecessary roughness penalty during the game against Indianapolis Colts.
The good, he has gotten into the end zone and seems to be a pretty sure target. He has flashes of elite talent, plus size and speed as well, but may struggle to put it all together in the two weeks before final cuts are made.
Uzoma Nwachukwu has been much talked about all offseason as he attempts to break into what is already a crowded wide receiving corps. He is third in the race for the potential sixth wide receiver spot.
He has not done enough to really break free from the pack but has notched a touchdown during his time on the field. He should land on the practice squad when it is all said and done but could make some headway in this competition with a solid performance in the remaining preseason games.
Lance Lenoir has been one of the main returners during preseason games and that really has come with mixed results. It seems as if the team will look elsewhere for their primary returner.
He has gotten into the end zone but has really has struggled to make an impression elsewhere on the football field. Lenoir should be headed for the practice squad.
Finally, we have the preseason veteran Andy Jones who has attempted to make the 53 man roster several times. He is currently at the bottom of this competition but not because he has had an awful preseason, he has been dependable at times.
The main issue is he really is not that versatile and does not get the targets to really be effective in the passing game. He could look to make a mark on these final two preseason games but it is unlikely.
One of the main problems with the Cowboys carrying six wide receivers is the fact that they would have to go lighter at another position. Considering all of the soft tissue injuries the defensive backs have had, the team could look to go a bit heavier at that position.
There are also two young upstarts who really have solidified their roster spots, quarterback, Cooper Rush and tight end, Rico Gathers. Rush has been setting opponents on fire compared to fellow backup quarterback, Kellen Moore, who has been mediocre all of preseason.
Rush could easily push Moore down the depth chart if not off it all together, however it seems likely the team will keep three quarterbacks. Gathers has been a man on a mission and even with missing the Colts game he is still a lock to make this roster.
Next: Dallas Cowboys mid-preseason roster projection
Gathers is a huge target and a converted basketball player with excellent box out skills. He is especially effective in the red zone and is seemingly the guy Rush looks too in that situation. Rush and Gathers would make this team before any of the receivers listed above.