WR Jalen Tolbert working to move past disappointing rookie season
The Dallas Cowboys are among the best drafting teams in the NFL, rarely missing on early draft picks. But it does happen. Last year’s third-round pick, wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, was hardly a success story and he’s going to need to improve to secure his place in the club’s future.
First-round selection Tyler Smith had a strong rookie campaign despite being moved from left guard to left tackle just before the start of the season, and then bounced back-and-forth between the positions during the year. Second-round pick Sam Williams was a quality edge rusher with four sacks and 10 tackles for a loss. Big things were expected from Tolbert, who failed to live up to the hype.
Tolbert’s rookie season consisted of two catches for 12 yards, and he was inactive for nine games.The South Alabama rookie was outplayed in the passing game by both fourth-round tight end Jake Ferguson and undrafted free agent TE Peyton Hendershot.
Fellow rookies cornerback DaRon Bland and linebacker Damone Clark both had bigger impacts as well. Bland had five interceptions, which was tied for second-best in the NFL, and Clark started five games, despite having spinal fusion surgery just after the combine. Needless to say, it was a disappointing first season for the wideout.
That hasn’t stopped Tolbert from moving forward and trying to improve in his sophomore season, however. Tolbert is working hard to make sure he has the impact in 2023 that most expected in his rookie campaign. That includes working out with his quarterback, Dak Prescott.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert posted a few photos of himself working out
(via @Jalen8Tolbert) pic.twitter.com/ibhyHb1xkb
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) April 13, 2023
If you want to get better and become a trusted target, working out with the starting quarterback is a smart move. Tolbert is clearly putting in the work to make the jump in his second year and catching passes from Prescott doesn’t hurt his chances. Prescott is a tireless worker and if Tolbert follows in his QBs path, good things should come from it.
After moving on from Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper last offseason, the Cowboys were trying to replace his production with a few WR candidates, one of whom was the rookie Tolbert. While it didn’t come to fruition last year, the hope is that Tolbert can make strides to become a productive WR in his second season.
It won’t be easy to get a seat at the big-boy table. While the Cowboys aren’t giving up on Tolbert, the team did trade for veteran WR Brandin Cooks, and it’s expected WR Michael Gallup will be healthier and more productive another year away from his ACL injury.
The Cowboys are also digging heavily into this year’s rookie wide receiver class. Dallas has met with many of the top WR prospects and where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Expect the team to select a WR somewhere in the first two days of the draft.
Tolbert can’t do anything about who the Cowboys bring in to compete with him for playing time, but he’s putting in the work to ensure he has a better season in year two than he did as a rookie. Everything else is out of his hands.
You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.
