A Cowboys’ contingent, including head coach Jason Garrett and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal, spent Wednesday in Alabama looking at draft prospects. Lal coached up Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley, who could be a Cowboys’ target at No. 19 if he lasts that long.
Garrett and Lal were among the Cowboys’ staffers to attend SMU’s Pro Day on Thursday, getting a good look at wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
“He can catch the ball like no other,” Lal said of Sutton. “He’s got a huge catch radius. Strong hands. So that’s a start. If a receiver can catch, obviously that’s key. Then, he’s coachable. We were giving him, on the fly, some coaching points and kind of coaching him a little hard, seeing how he would respond, and he responded. He’s not polished like most of these guys coming out, but a great athlete, and he’s a moldable piece of clay.”
Sutton did not run Thursday, standing on his 4.54 from the combine, but he did do position drills with Garrett and Lal leading the workout. Sutton drew scouts from 25 teams, including four other wide receiver coaches.
“That was a blessing to have coach Garrett there, an NFL coach to coach you up,” Sutton said. “He kind of asked before the workout, he said, ‘You want me just to sit back and watch you and let you do what you want to, or do you want me to coach? I said, ‘Coach, I’d love for you to coach me.’ That’s something a lot of people don’t get a chance to do, and to have someone of his caliber out here willing to coach me and go with the drills was a blessing.”
The Cowboys signed Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson in free agency, but owner Jerry Jones said earlier this week they still could draft a receiver.