Predicting which Dallas Cowboys wideout will win battle for WR3 spot
With the departure of Amari Cooper, who will emerge as the Dallas Cowboys’ WR3?
Since trading for wide receiver Amari Cooper back in 2018, the Dallas Cowboys have owned one of the better receiving corps in the NFL. A disappointing 2021 season and the emergence of a young CeeDee Lamb ultimately led to Cooper getting traded this past offseason.
The top two spots on the depth chart are no-brainers with Lamb and Michael Gallup (once healthy). The third spot, however, appears to be a battle. It will feature a rookie, a longtime Cowboy, and a free agent acquisition. Here are your three candidates.
. . Noah Brown. 3. player. 123.
Owner Jerry Jones loves training and rewarding players on the roster rather than reaching for players on other teams. Wide receiver Noah Brown has been around the team and is familiar with the offensive system.
He was a seventh-round draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Unfortunately for the former Buckeye, he was on the depth chart behind many other names. Most of the wideout’s reps came on an emergency basis due to injuries or to rest the other players.
Every year since his rookie season, Brown’s been overshadowed by other wideouts. He had nine catches in his first three seasons, including not playing a snap during the 2019 season. That changed over the past two years, though.
Dak to Noah Brown pic.twitter.com/Dnraw2caTD
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 24, 2021
After moving on from depth options in Tavon Austin and Devin Smith after 2019, Brown finally got his opportunity to step up as a fourth option. The Flanders, NJ native racked up more than double his career catches and yards from his first two years in 2020 alone.
The six-foot, two-inch tall wideout also saw a slight increase in usage during 2021 due to an injury to Gallup, but Cedrick Wilson saw the bulk of the snaps. Regardless, Brown had a career-best season with 16 catches for 184 yards.
It is concerning that he has yet to separate himself over five seasons, but he is still a young player at 26 years old. Could this be the time he has been waiting for? It’s up to Brown to earn the coaching staff’s trust to be the go-to option for at least the start of the season.