FRISCO, Texas – Simi Fehoko seems to stand out a bit more than your average sixth-round draft pick, for a variety of reasons.
One of them is quite literal. Fehoko, drafted No. 179 out of Stanford three weeks ago, measures up at roughly 6'4, easily making him one of the tallest players in the Cowboys' receiver room.
He's also the only offensive skill player the Cowboys drafted this year, as eight of their 11 selections came on the defensive side of the ball. Throw Fehoko's 4.40 speed and deep threat reputation into the mix, and it's easy to see why he's been a frequent topic of conversation.
"For me, especially in the Stanford offense, I was mainly that take-the-top-off, deep threat type of guy," he said Saturday. "And so for me, just working on getting in and out of my breaks, becoming a more versatile receiver."
With rookie minicamp out of the way, Fehoko is no longer and intriguing Day 3 prospect – he's an NFL receiver with a lot of work to do. The Cowboys' OTAs are set to begin next week, and it's all of a sudden hard to forget that Fehoko is joining one of the deepest receiver rooms in the league, headlined by the trio of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb.
"All these guys are legitimate players in the NFL, sometimes arguably top five in the league," Fehoko said. "Being able to work with them and around them is not only going to help me with my game, but I'm excited. I'm just excited to compete against them. We're going to grow as a team and be a pretty solid wide receiver unit."
It'd be hard to blame a rookie if he was intimidated by the situation. The top of the Cowboys' receiver depth chart is set. Even behind the all-star trio is a duo of highly experienced veterans in Cedrick Wilson and Noah Brown – Day 3 draft picks who worked their way onto the roster, themselves.
Fehoko's approach is the opposite, as he said he prefers to think of his new teammates as a valuable resource.
"For me, I look at it as an opportunity to get better," he said. "Working with the best, you surround yourself with the best, so you tend to become the best. I'm just excited to work with them and have the opportunity for that."
This is just the beginning of the process. But with that kind of talent teaching him and competing with him, it's a good bet Fehoko is right.
