3 Cowboys who earned more playing time in Week 5
By Mark Heaney
1. Noah Brown, WR
If I had told you one year ago when the Cowboys’ top three receivers were Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Amari Cooper, that in a years time a 2017 seventh-round pick who had yet to catch an NFL touchdown would be arguably the most productive WR on the depth chart, you would probably call me crazy.
Alas, this is where we are. Gallup is just now coming back, Lamb has had his ups and downs, and Cooper is catching passes from a backup QB in Cleveland. Meanwhile, former Ohio State Buckeye Noah Brown is taking full advantage of his opportunities.
With 18 catches (already a career high), 274 receiving yards, and 15.2 per catch, Brown is having a breakout season.
The only problem? Brown saw his lowest snap count percentage of the season last week at just 79%, a full 16% behind Lamb, and only 15% ahead of Gallup, who was playing his first game since a full ACL tear.
That number is not high enough, especially considering how well he is playing, but also because of who is taking snaps away from Brown. Second-year man Simi Fehoko had 16% of the offensive snaps, while simultaneously not doing much at all.
Brown deserves to get 90% of snaps or more, just like Lamb is getting, considering his stats are better than Brown’s by a very slim margin.
His performance has set the tone for other Cowboys WRs, and he is catching the eye of fans, coaches, and even some former Cowboys celebrities…
Let’s hear about him a little more, shall we?