2020 Dallas Cowboys vs Super Bowl Champ Kansas City Chiefs
Wide Receiver
This is a much tougher position to look at for both teams. By looking at stats for the wide receivers of each team, you get a very surprising result (at least to me).
For Dallas, the top receivers are Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb. For KC it’s Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Sammy Watkins, and Demarcus Robinson. Mahomes’ usage of more receivers than Dak means four top Chiefs to three top Cowboys.
First, the Chiefs have two wide receivers that were Pro Bowlers in 2019 with Hill and Hardman, while the Cowboys had one in Cooper. Hardman’s 538 receiving yards and six touchdowns shouldn’t have been enough to get him in, but it is what it is.
Something that amazes me about the Chiefs receiving corps is that they have Hill, who can (and would have) topped 1,000 yards, but then the other three are hanging around 673, 538, and 449 yards respectively. It’s amazing to me that their offense is split up so much.
This brings up the question of how much credit should be given to the quarterback. Regardless, all four receivers split the touches and it resulted in a Super Bowl win.
In a hierarchy-like format, I would rate the best receivers in order as Hill-Cooper-Gallup-Hardman-Watkins-Lamb-Robinson. Ok now, let me explain.
Hill is the fastest player in the league, has good hands, and is great at running routes. The difference in speed between him and the next guy is a good amount. When you have that kind of speed, you are almost impossible to cover in man coverage.
Cooper is a great receiver that is looked at as one of the best receivers off the line of scrimmage. His hands are good and his routes are good, but the only problem is consistency. If he can be more consistent, he will be in the talks of being one of the better wideouts in the league.
Gallup had a great breakout year after a promising rookie season in 2018. He showed he can be explosive downfield and finally connected with Dak. The main problem is that he dropped too many catchable balls which were costly. A great year three is coming for Gallup.
Not too far behind him is Hardman who has great speed, not as much as Hill but it’s there. He averaged 20.7 yards per reception, but there is not much of a sample size of him. He started five games and was victim to a deep pool of receivers. Regardless, an amazing first season for the 21-year-old.
Watkins played well with 673 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games but had the same problem as Gallup. His 57.8 percent catching percentage is one of the reasons Mahomes felt like he couldn’t rely on him every game. Better hands would make him a great number two wideout.
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Lamb is the Cowboys’ 2020 first-round draft pick who was looked at as the best wideout in the draft. Back to back 1,000+ yard seasons and 10+ touchdowns with the Sooners is no easy feat. He has upside to be ahead of Gallup, but since we haven’t seen him in the NFL yet he remains here.
Robinson found himself on the outside looking in because of the other names he is up against. His 58.2 percent catching percentage is a little low for me, and his 449 yards isn’t much, but enough to make a difference. He is a solid third or fourth option.
The Cowboys get a slight edge for this one because they have two top receivers and a rookie with very high expectations. While the Chiefs have Hill and three other great support players. Hardman, the Chiefs second-best wideout, doesn’t have much of a sample size.
Watkins is a good wide receiver that struggled to come down with the ball at times. Dallas has two for sure top options, and the Chiefs have one.
It’s also important to keep in mind KC’s quarterback and another player that will be mentioned in the next section. These two factors take away from the wide receivers.
The speed and the number of effective receivers are great for the Chiefs, but Cooper and Gallup alone had only 200 fewer receiving yards than the four receivers for KC. It was a very tough decision to come up with, but the Cowboys receiving corps looks amazing.