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FRISCO, TX — CeeDee Lamb continues to prove himself one of the best receivers in all of football, and a record-setting one, at that. But, for the Dallas Cowboys, this offseason will again be about trying to figure out who can do the most damage as the Robin to his Batman and, based upon how the 2024 season went, it's proving a difficult task.
Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks have both taken strides, as well as KaVontae Turpin, in their progression in the passing attack, and the Cowboys drafted Ryan Flournoy last April, following that by sending a fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers to acquire Jonathan Mingo.
There are a lot of bodies in the room, but no definitive No. 2 wideout, and it's a question that needs answering as Brandin Cooks prepares for free agency.
Go young with the incumbents, draft another one, sign a veteran or trade for one as they did Cooks in 2023?
Decisions, decisions.
What's Here
Brandin Cooks: Acquired via trade in 2023, following the failed prom date with Odell Beckham Jr., Cooks showed signs of what might be as that season rolled along. His encore campaign wasn't as exciting, however, as the veteran receiver battled a knee infection that cost him a chunk of the season and, when he returned, there wasn't a lot of action thrown his way from backup quarterback Cooper Rush. His mentorship for Lamb and Tolbert remains priceless, and he'd be one of the more reasonably priced veteran options in free agency — still.
[FYI: *Be sure to check out the entire ‘What’s Next?*' series as a primer to "Open Market".]
What's Out There:
Note: These players will be unrestricted on March 13, barring a newly-signed deal with their incumbent team prior to that date.
Stefon Diggs: Ah, you knew this name was going to make the list, if only for the romance of it all. Just imagine a Cowboys' team that fields both Stefon and Trevon Diggs in 2025 and, furthermore, consider how insane the practices would be with the two All-Pros constantly lining up against each other, driving each other to heights only a blood brother can.
The problem with this image is not only the projected cost of $13 million annually (per Spotrac) to land the elder Diggs, but the fact he, like the younger Diggs, is returning from a season-ending knee injury that makes the potential asking price a tough pill to swallow, unless he lowers that to play alongside baby brother.
Keenan Allen: It's impossible to not like what Allen brings to a football team. Roughly the same age as Diggs (early 30s) and with six Pro Bowls to his name, Allen is the consummate pro and definition of consistent production within whatever system he's asked to operate within. Consider his "down" season was in 2024 when he still delivered seven receiving touchdowns and more than 700 receiving yards in 15 starts, and it's not hard to decipher what Allen could be in tandem with Lamb. That is if you can work with the projected $11 million cost annually.
Marquise Brown: This is an option that crosses the event horizon into more affordability, at a projected annual $8 million price tag, but it comes at a cost (pun intended) of sorts. Sure, Brown can "Hollywood" a game at times and make his presence felt, as evidenced many times in his NFL career. That's if he can remain on the field, though. He's battled injury on multiple occasions and none more than in 2024, when he missed all but one regular season start due to a sternoclavicular injury before playing in the Super Bowl for the Chiefs. Still, the former first-round pick is young (27), extremely talented as a secondary option and can't rightfully command the same pay as Diggs or Allen.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: Keeping to the cost-friendly side of the spectrum, Westbrook lands around around $3.5 million in projected pricing, annually, and that could give him a solid chance of finding himself on the Cowboys' radar — a team that will likely look, and prefer, to add to the position by way of this year's draft class. An undrafted talent that signed on with the Titans in 2020, Westbrook has been a dependable second option in Nashville and his nine receiving touchdowns from 2024, a career-high, is more than literally every other free agent named in this column; and he did it with a mix of Will Levis and Mason Rudolph at quarterback.
Honorable mention: DeAndre Hopkins, Darius Slayton - Two high-level names, but Hopkins has seen better days and both are expected to command upwards of $15 million per year, so grab a Sharpie and draw a thick black line through their names, in my opinion.
