Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott recently said he doesn’t know “if any team in the league necessarily needs a No. 1 receiver.” He better hope the Cowboys don’t need one.
Dallas released Dez Bryant, leaving them minus a feature wideout.
Even in the two seasons Prescott played with Bryant, though, Bryant never had a 1,000-yard season. In fact, Cole Beasley was the team’s leading receiver in 2016.
The Cowboys insist their lack of a No. 1 receiver is overblown.
“As far as this locker, to ourselves or in the meeting rooms, we don’t talk about that at all,” said receiver Allen Hurns, who signed with the Cowboys as a free agent. “The main thing for us is we come in and compete and try to earn our job. I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys who’ve got to come in and prove ourselves regardless. It’s motivation, but that’s not our main motivation. Our main motivation is to come in and be great. Me, I’m not coming off my best year. That’s the same with Beas. He didn’t have his best year last year. Same with TWill [Terrance Williams] and Tavon [Austin]. The list goes on. We’re not coming off our best year. Being young guys coming into the league, you’ve got something to prove. That’s not our main motivation, but it does add fuel to the fire.”
The Cowboys’ projected top-six receivers have one 1,000-yard season among them. Hurns, Deonte Thompson, Beasley, Williams, Noah Brown and third-round pick Michael Gallup have combined for 754 receptions for 9,692 yards and 65 touchdowns. (Austin, who will play receiver and running back, has 194 receptions for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career.)
Chances are the Cowboys won’t have a 1,000-yard receiver for the fourth consecutive season. They have not had one since Bryant earned All-Pro honors with 1,320 receiving yards in 2014.
Prescott likes spreading the ball around and figures to do that again this season.
“Depending on what offense we’re in, a lot of people could be No. 1,” Beasley said. “It just depends on what you’re doing. You spread the ball around. It really doesn’t matter. Even with a No. 1, I feel like the balls should be spread anyway. We’ll see. I definitely don’t think it has to be like that, no.”