FRISCO, Texas — Although the task of finding multiple pass-catchers in the draft was accomplished over the weekend for the Cowboys, the wide receiver selection came as the final pick for Dallas in wide receiver Jalen Brooks in the seventh round, which only furthers the speculation around the depth at the position.
Despite Brandin Cooks being brought in during free agency, the questions around the position grow more complex as you look deeper into the depth chart with players such as Simi Fehoko, Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks and more looking to secure a spot near the top of the chart. For Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay, there's an expectation for at least one of those guys to take the necessary step forward.
"We're always looking to improve," McClay said. "We feel like we have players on the roster that are improving. We talked about the maturation process of players like Simi [Fehoko], [Jalen] Tolbert. We have guys that have been here for a year and we're looking for those guys to step up."
When asked about if the free agency market could be circled back on later this offseason, McClay didn't rule it out. With names such as T.Y. Hilton, N'Keal Harry and Sammy Watkins still available, the market has value that McClay feels could help the team down the line if the depth on the team doesn't take the necessary step forward ahead of training camp.
"If there's an opportunity to do something in free agency, we'll look at it," he said. "We feel good about the group [in Dallas] because they've been here, they've been in the system. They were players that got drafted and didn't play for the first year, so we've gotta speed up that curve there. If we have a problem, we'll go out and get somebody to continue to try and improve it."
A clear picture exists up top with CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup, but the complexity behind those three names remains murky. Tolbert, Fehoko and even KaVontae Turpin and Dennis Houston are all players with limited experience that have the tools to take the next step. And if they can't show the front office an added layer this offseason, a hungry group of free agents awaits for an opportunity to earn a roster spot in Oxnard later this summer.
