Surprising WR getting first-team reps at Cowboys OTAs

After boasting one of the strongest wide receiver rooms in the NFL a season ago, the Dallas Cowboys‘ 2022 group has burning question marks.

Is CeeDee Lamb ready to assume the No. 1 role? Who will be Lamb’s top running mate while Michael Gallup works his way back from ACL surgery? How big a responsibility will third-round pick Jalen Tolbert have as a rookie?

It’s too early into the offseason to have answers, but replacing Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson won’t be easy and Gallup being injured and unlikely to be cleared for training camp make things more murky.

If you wanted to put a positive spin on that, the lack of clarity creates an opportunity for the Cowboys’ lesser-known wideouts to impress the coaching staff at OTAs. With that in mind, do you care to venture a guess who’s been lined up with Lamb, Dak Prescott and the rest of the first-team offense?

Second-year receiver Simi Fehoko.

Cowboys wide receiver Simi Fehoko has been practicing with the first-team offense at OTAs.

No, Fehoko hasn’t leapfrogged the likes of Tolbert and James Washington in the receiver pecking order. The two new additions are nursing injuries and have been sitting out of practice as a precaution, thrusting Fehoko into WR2 duties.

Though a temporary gig, this is a valuable time for Fehoko, who didn’t take any vacation time this offseason in hopes of hitting the ground running in Year 2. A fifth-round pick out of Stanford last year, Fehoko didn’t record any catches as a rookie. In fact, he only logged seven offensive snaps and 48 special teams reps.

While speaking to reporters over the weekend, Fehoko shared what he thinks he can bring to Dallas’ offense as a big-bodied receiver.

"“Being the bigger, taller and I guess heavier receiver to be able to have that blend of speed I feel like adding that with learning from the route runner from [Noah Brown] or CeeDee, I feel like it’s only just going to get better,” Fehoko said. “I feel like that is something I bring to the table.”"

Fehoko brings up a good point. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, the former Cardinal is the biggest receiver on Dallas’ roster. Lamb is 6-foot-2, but is only 189 pounds, Washington is 5-foot-11 and 213, and Tolbert is 6-foot-1, but only weighs 190. At 6-2 and 225 pounds, Noah Brown is the only WR with a similar build to Fehoko.

Who knows what it means in the long run, but Fehoko getting reps with the Cowboys’ first-team offense should not be understated. OTAs aren’t considered a huge deal, but the fact Fehoko’s building trust with Prescott this early suggests we’ll see a lot more of the 24-year-old as a sophomore.

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