Cowboys should find another starting WR before the draft
Waiting until the draft to add receiver talent may be too risky for the Cowboys.
One of the Cowboys’ biggest needs this offseason is to figure out their other starter at wide receiver. With limited internal options, Dallas should strongly consider an outside hire. But if they forego free agency and wait until the draft, they may have difficulty finding a clear upgrade.
Brandin Cooks is a free agent and his return is hard to project. Turning 32 this September, Cooks is on the downside of his career and has struggled to consistently produce in two seasons with Dallas. While there are legitimate complaints about how he’s been used in the offense under Mike McCarthy, Cooks also has 11 seasons of NFL mileage and is seeing the natural decline of some physical skills.
Even some of the biggest Jalen Tolbert fans would feel uneasy with him just being handed the WR2 job. He had a solid third season in 2024 but still hasn’t proven he can be a reliable starting target for Dak Prescott. The rest of the pack, be it KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, Jonathan Mingo, or Ryan Flournoy, are all guys you’re happy to bring to camp and use to fill out your depth chart. But a starting job? Not yet, if ever.
So if they’re not re-signing Cooks and not ready to lean on Tolbert, that means a move is coming. Many would like to see Dallas land one of the top WR prospects in this draft class like Tet McMillan, Matthew Golden, Luther Burden, or Emeka Egbuka. But if they wait until the draft to find WR2, the Cowboys could easily come up short.
For one, it’s rarely good policy to rely on a rookie WR as a Day One starter. Some certainly can hit the ground running, but many have needed at least a year to acclimate to the professional game. And this class isn’t considered to have the same elite talent as some years, such as the 2020 group which brought CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk, and others into the league.
What’s more, the Cowboys would essentially be locking into WR with their first-round pick. That could be dangerous as McMillan (and of course Travis Hunter) are the only prospects some feel would be worthy of the 12th-overall pick. Maybe they could trade down before taking Burden, Egbuka, or Golden, but you can’t always find someone to dance with on those deals. That means Dallas would have to reach, potentially, to fill their starting WR need.
If you don’t take a WR at 12 then you’re waiting until the 44th pick, and by then you could be down to the next tier with guys like Tre Harris, Elic Ayomanor, and Xavier Restrepo. They’re good prospects, but are they really walk-in starters? Do they immediately supplant Tolbert, who himself was a third-round pick and now has three years of experience? Again, you’re running an awful risk.
Much like how re-signing Osa Odighizuwa took pressure off of finding a new DT early in the draft, the Cowboys need to think the same way about receiver with the impending free agent market. Not necessarily bringing back Cooks; there are legitimate concerns about him both in scheme fit and diminished ability. But if Dallas is going to make one more big move, adding a clear starting candidate at WR would help preserve their flexibility in the draft.
This isn’t to say that the Cowboys should give up picks for franchised Tee Higgins or get into a bidding war for Chris Godwin. But what about a guy like Darius Slayton, still just 28 with loads of experience from his time in New York? He would create a strong competition for that WR2 spot with Tolbert. And not having the name recognition of other free agents like Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, and Amari Cooper, Slayton’s price could stay within the Cowboys’ range.
Another NFC East transfer could be Dyami Brown, who started breaking out during Washington’s last playoff run. He’s going to get interest at just 25-years-old but doesn’t have enough skins on the wall to demand huge money. Like Slayton, he’s a guy who could come in and boost your WR room but still allow for some competition and consideration of drafting a prospect high if the right guy’s available.
Outside of maybe running back, there isn’t a position where you want to feel dependent on the draft to cover a starting vacancy. Wide receiver is especially dangerous given the potential learning curve, plus the consensus that this 2025 class isn’t teeming with highly-touted prospects. If the Cowboys want to avoid the risk of coming out of April with a gaping hole on offense, addressing WR in the upcoming free agent action would be the safer course.
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