Cowboys at Steelers: Two players Dallas should use more in Week 5

After a nine-day mini bye week, the Dallas Cowboys are back in action Sunday night as they face the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys are dealing with some big-time injuries on both sides of the ball and their depth will be tested in a big way in the next couple of weeks.

With that in mind, today we take a look at two players the Cowboys should use more against Pittsburgh to help pick up the slack.

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1) WR Ryan Flournoy
Sixth-round pick Ryan Flournoy is set to make his NFL debut on Sunday against the Steelers. While this news came at a cost, losing Brandin Cooks for the foreseeable future will get the young wideout on the field and playing some significant snaps.

Even if Cooks was healthy, Flournoy deserved a chance to be active and get a chance to take some snaps from fellow young wideout Jalen Brooks. Coming into the regular season there was plenty of buzz about Brooks’ potential, but through four games he’s caught just three passes for 24 yards, leaving plenty to be desired at the fourth receiver spot.

Flournoy showed what he was capable of during the preseason, catching nine passes for 61 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

The 24-year-old is going to get a chance to make his mark in the coming weeks. Flournoy’s performance in the next two or three games will likely determine if he or Brooks stays active once Cooks returns.

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2) CB Amani Oruwariye
Coming into the season the Cowboys were poised to have one of the best trio of cornerbacks in all of football. That all went out the door when All-Pro DaRon Bland hurt his foot just two weeks before the start of the regular season. Bland is yet to return, and it seems likely he’ll be out until at least the San Francisco game, coming after Dallas’ bye week.

Dallas replaced Bland’s spot in the starting lineup by inserting rookie fifth-round pick Caelen Carson. The young cornerback showed some positive flashes in Week 1 but had some growing pains in the following two games. Carson gave up a big play on a missed tackle against the Ravens and ended up injuring his shoulder later in the game.

The injury forced him to miss last week’s game against the Giants, putting the Cowboys in a bit of a pickle at the outside corner spot. The Cowboys started the game with 24-year-old Andrew Booth Jr. on the outside and he struggled in a big way. Booth allowed four catches on four targets for 84 yards and eventually was benched in favor of the recently elevated Amani Oruwariye.

Oruwariye, who is in his sixth season in the NFL, outperformed Booth in a big way. The former fifth-round pick prevented big plays, allowing four receptions on seven targets for just 30 yards. Oruwariye also recorded the game-sealing interception on the game’s final play.

Even with Carson potentially returning this week, the Cowboys should still find some reps for Oruwariye to see if he can build off his solid performance, even if most of them are on special teams.