(Editor's Note: Over the next month, the staff of DallasCowboys.com is looking to answer the 20 biggest questions facing the team heading into the 2022 season. Today, the staff writers try to sort out the Cowboys' wide receiver depth charter behind No. 1 starter CeeDee Lamb.)
9) Who Will Be No. 2 Wide Receiver For Week 1?
Rob Phillips: I'm answering this question on the assumption that Michael Gallup (February ACL surgery) won't be quite ready for Week 1. In that case, James Washington is the most logical choice. Now entering his fifth NFL season, this is probably his best chance yet to be a starting receiver in the league. The Cowboys loved him coming out of Oklahoma State, but he ended up joining a crowded receiver group in Pittsburgh. If all goes well in camp and preseason, I could see CeeDee Lamb and him starting on the outside (where Washington mostly played with the Steelers) and third-round draft pick Jalen Tolbert playing the slot when the Cowboys take the field Sunday night, Sept. 11 against Tampa Bay. I reserve the right to change that prediction sometime in the next 62 days, though.
Nick Eatman: To steal a poker reference, I feel like I'm "pot-committed" at this point with this argument. And it goes back over a year. For the longest time, I've been saying James Washington was going to end up with the Cowboys. I always thought it was going to be a good fit for both him and the Cowboys once he hit free agency. Sure enough, that's where he ends up and now he's here, although he missed all of the offseason practices with an injury. Still, I'm going to stick with this stance and assume he's going to have a good training camp and will have a big role with the team. Obviously, Michael Gallup's rehab will factor into this, but while I think he'll be ready to play at the start of the season, I'm going with Washington as the starter next to CeeDee.
Kyle Youmans: The injury to Michael Gallup throws a jumble of names underneath CeeDee Lamb for the second receiver early this season. Jalen Tolbert and James Washington both seem to be the front runners for that spot with Noah Brown and Semi Fehoko as sneaky underdogs. But just based on experience, I think Washington would take the second receiver spot to start. With Tolbert right on his heels before he takes over that title after a few games.
