2025 NFL Draft: The Cowboys must be “selectively aggressive” when drafting a wide receiver
The Dallas Cowboys must come out of the 2025 NFL draft with a good wide receiver. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to convince you that the team spun its wheels when trying to find a quality complementary receiver for CeeDee Lamb. In recent years, the team has used the draft, free agency, and even trades to find the missing piece, but each time, they have come up short.
If you looked back over the last several years, you might be surprised to see just how much the Cowboys have struggled with this. In each of the last eight seasons, the team has had a completely different player finish as the WR2. Not one duplicate!
YEAR
WR2
YARDS
ALPHA
2024
Jalen Tolbert
610
CeeDee Lamb
2023
Brandin Cooks
657
CeeDee Lamb
2022
Noah Brown
555
CeeDee Lamb
2021
Amari Cooper
865
CeeDee Lamb
2020
CeeDee Lamb
935
Amari Cooper
2019
Michael Gallup
1,107
Amari Cooper
2018
Cole Beasley
672
Amari Cooper
2017
Terrance Williams
568
Dez Bryant
What is interesting about the above list is that it highlights how ineffective the team has been at assembling their WR group during this span. Even the three years of quality WR2 play depict multiple circumstances when the team was clearly caught off guard.
Released Dez Bryant in 2018, left undermanned, traded for Amari Cooper
CeeDee Lamb fell into their lap in 2020, and suddenly they have two alpha’s
Released Cooper in 2022, left undermanned once again
The Cowboys have a star receiver in Lamb. He’s locked up for the next four years and should continue to produce at a high level. But as the last few seasons have shown us, Lamb is not enough. The team must have a secondary receiver who can pose some level of threat for the defense.
The team has Jalen Tolbert on the roster, who is entering the last year of his rookie deal. He is coming off a much-improved season, but his time in Dallas is likely coming to an end soon. The front office also acquired Jonathan Mingo at the trade deadline last year, but like Tolbert, he’s been essentially invisible in his first two years in the league. There is nothing about either of these guys that would lead anyone to believe that they can be a quality WR2.
So, for the Cowboys to find answers, they must look to the draft. That appears to be their focus. If you look at their pre-draft visitors thus far, four of their top ten ranked players are wide receivers. Not only does it appear they are looking at receivers, but they are doing so early as the players on this list are all first-round candidates.
If the team is serious about upgrading wide receiver, there’s a good chance we see them select a pass-catcher on Day 1. But then the question is, which one?
Pick 12 – TMac or the Golden boy?
Tetrairoa McMillan
The Arizona star has been lighting up the stat sheet over the past couple of seasons. He’s a playmaker who has a lengthy frame, wide catch radius, and outstanding ball skills. And when he gets the ball in his hands, he has a knack for getting away. But he’s also a basic route runner who lacks a physical presence or break-away speed. He’ll dazzle with some impressive catches, but is he a game-changing player, or does he even need to be?
Matthew Golden
Moving on to another type of receiver, Texas’ Matthew Golden is another playmaker, but he goes about it a little differently. His route running is much more refined as he plays with both a purpose and the athleticism to create separation. His body tracking and hands rival Tet, and similarly, he’s a threat after the catch. Golden doesn’t have great size, but he’s a burner who will threaten opposing defenses.
Trade back – lower the risk with an extra pick
Emeka Egbuka
In each of the last three drafts, Ohio State has produced four, count them, four wide receivers selected in the first round – Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Marvin Harrison. This year, the Buckeye factory of pass-catchers will produce Emeka Egbuka, who had the privilege of playing with all four of those guys his freshmen season. As you might expect, he checks off all the boxes from size, speed, ball-tracking, to overall football intelligence. He’s just really good at a lot of things.
Luther Burden
There might not be a more exciting player to watch on tape than Missouri’s Luther Burden. Athletically, he comes with all the bells and whistles. He has a good combination of size and speed and is the most make-you-miss-after-the-catch receiver in this draft class. He shows great quickness to elude and nice focus to come away with the ball in traffic. His underwhelming production last year and questionable mental makeup has some raising eyebrows, but talent alone, he’ll be as splashy as they come.
I am not a draft scientist, but there are two things in my notes about this year’s first round WRs:
1. All WRs are outside my top 10 players.
2. WR1 and WR4 aren’t that far apart.
If I’m the Cowboys, and I’m committed to WR on Day 1, I’m looking to trade back. pic.twitter.com/K5bOXSGYFG
— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) April 13, 2025
