The Dallas Cowboys do not need a true No. 1 receiver
Do the Dallas Cowboys really need a traditional number one wide receiver to be successful? Many of last year’s playoff teams seem to indicate otherwise.
Not many national sports pundits seem to be choosing the Dallas Cowboys as the favorites to come out of the NFC East in 2018, much less to make any noise the playoffs. Some of that is due to the fact the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl earlier this year. And the rest is likely due to the Cowboys’ numerous roster changes this offseason.
The biggest change followed the exodus of tight end Jason Witten, who elected to retire earlier month to pursue a broadcasting career. Witten’s presence both on and off-the-field will be missed as the team really has no replacement for him.
Despite Witten’s retirement, most media pundits seemed focused more on the Cowboys’ release of wide receiver Dez Bryant earlier this offseason. They appear to view his absence as a much more impactful loss to this roster. Seen as the team’s only true number one receiver, many believe the Cowboys overall offensive attack will be less effective without Dez on the field.
Unfortunately for Bryant, who remains unemployed, I don’t believe that could be farther from the truth. Since signing a massive five-year, $70 million contract in July of 2015, Dez has struggled to live up to his gaudy price tag. Bryant averaged just 50 receptions for 678 yards and six touchdowns for each of the past three seasons.
Yet, despite Bryant’s dwindling production, the Cowboys’ success (or lack thereof) seem relatively unaffected by his struggling performance. In 2015, Dallas posted a 4-12 record after then-quarterback Tony Romo suffered two collarbone injuries. The following year, the Cowboys went an impressive 13-3, earning a postseason appearance in the divisional round. Then, last season, they failed to make the playoffs entirely, posting a 9-7 record.
Where Bryant did hurt the Cowboys was in “forced targets”. Dallas threw the ball to Dez a whopping 300 times in his last 38 regular season games in Big D. That’s nearly eight targets a contest. And that’s fine as long as your top receiver is catching a majority of those passes. Unfortunately, Bryant caught less than half of those targets at 49.1%.
Without Bryant or any number one wide receiver on the field in Dallas this season, those targets will now be spread out to the open receiver and not focused on trying to justify someone’s massive salary or ego.
"“I don’t know if any team in the league necessarily needs a No. 1 receiver,” said Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott according to Pro Football Talk. “It’s about getting the ball out, spreading the ball around, keeping the defense on its toes.”"
If you need proof that current NFL teams do not require a true number one wide receiver to be successful, just checkout the 2017 divisional championships. The four participating teams were the New England Patroits, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings. None of those teams had a traditional number one wide receiver.
Brandin Cooks led the Pats in targets (114) last year and New England promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Rams this offseason. Jacksonville was able to make it to the AFC Championship game with their top receiver Allen Robinson sidelined after Week One due to a season-ending ACL injury.
It could be argued that Alshon Jeffery was the Eagles number one wide receiver as he topped the team with 120 targets last year. Yet, Jeffery caught just 47.5% of those passes and it was actually tight end Zach Ertz who led the team in receiving with 74 catches for 824 yards.
Finally, the Vikings have the closest thing to a pure number one wide receiver in Adam Thielen. The fourth-year veteran exploded for 91 receptions for 1,276 and four scores in 2018. That was after posting a total of 20 catches in his first two seasons in the NFL. It can be argued that the presence of Stefon Diggs negates either being true number ones. Their just one of the top receiver tandems in the NFL.
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The fact is the Dallas Cowboys do not require a true top wide receiver to be on the roster in order to fulfill their Super Bowl aspirations. And if the team can take better advantage of the opportunities missed by Dez Bryant the past three years, this run-first offense in Dallas has a real chance to exceed national expectations in 2018.