Cowboys Blog Official

WRs: Who's In, Who's Out

I've gotten some emails in regards to how the WR's looked. And there's not much difference from the starters. Terrell Owens has fully recovered from his finger injury, basically caught everything thrown at him. Yes, he had a drop here and there, but so did Glenn (maybe one, that I saw). We can't be too microscopic on these guys. After watching practice, here's who I think make the team.

Terrell Owens
Owens is the face of the WRs, and one of the major faces of the Cowboys, whether you like him or not. The crowd gets electrified when Owens steps on the field, and when he makes the deep pass catch against the CBs. Garrett has him lining up all over the field. They threw to him on short passes, in the slot, outside deep, inside slant. He's gonna be a big weapon. More than last year if you can imagine that.

Terry Glenn
Glenn is pure business, he looks the part on the field, runs the best patterns on the field, and explosively quick on his feet. Glenn is the clutch receiver, and you can count on Glenn making those tought acrobatic catches. He's a lock.

Patrick Crayton
Crayton looked great on the field, he catches the ball easily, he just plucks it out of the air. He's been described as having the best hands on the entire team, and I would agree with that. Crayton, also looked a bit bulked up. I expect Crayton to get alot more touches this year in Garrett's attacking offense. Crayton will be a free agent after this season, so you can expect Crayton to be playing for a new contract in Dallas or elsewhere. He'll be the #3 WR on the team.

Miles Austin
Right now, I have Miles Austin rated higher than Sam Hurd, and here's why: Austin looked amazing out there. You can tell he took full advantage of Joe Jurasek's offseason program. He's bulked up, big difference from last year in my opinion. He ran his drills very well. He has good catching hands, and after the catch Austin makes plays. Austin ran drills on the return team and looks to be the weapon he developed into last year. Austin has more value and upside right now. He's #4

Sam Hurd
Hurd was a preseason target favorite from Romo last year, and he made a play here and there last year. Sam Hurd is a good receiver. He didn't appear to be any bigger though, he still looks light and he didn't really standout to me. To Hurd's credit, he's a hardworker on the field. After practice I saw him remain on the field and he practiced the tennis ball drill to work on his hands. Hurd's value comes in the passing game. He'll have to have a solid preseason to win out on the 53-man roster, and he's on the bubble.

Isaiah Stanback
Stanback has shown nothing to this point, and his "potential" simply is not gonna cut it for me right now. He hasn't practiced in the position the Cowboys had hoped he would take over - punt returner. He's coming off an injury that takes time to heal. Once he's recovered, he'll be thrown in the mix. But until then, we just don't know. He's on the bubble, maybe a practice squad guy if he never recovers. With Stanback out, we've been seeing Newman on punt returns, and this is NOT where Newman should be, he's way too valuable.

The Other Guys
Jamal Richardson, Jamaica Rector, Jerard Rabb, Jerhame Urban, and Mike Jefferson will be battling it out with Hurd and Stanback for a possible roster spot, and at best a practice squad spot. Rector probably doesn't qualify for the practice squad since he's been on it the last two years, so he may not make the team at all.

Who's In
1. Terrell Owens
2. Terry Glenn
3. Patrick Crayton
4. Miles Austin
5. Sam Hurd (probable, on bubble)
6. Isaiah Stanback (on bubble)
7. The rest (competition for #5-#6 spots or practice squad)