Photo courtesy of Erik Drost.
Unfortunately, the Dallas Cowboys don’t have two wide receivers part of last season’s success. Amari Cooper is now a Cleveland Brown and Cedrick Wilson Jr. a Miami Dolphin. A new Cowboys receiver may be one of the right additions in satisfying this need.
Recently, the Cowboys have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver to a one year deal, per David Helman’s Dallas Cowboys article. Washington joins a wide receiver core that now consists of CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Noah Brown, and Simi Fehoko, Helman listed. Washington hopes for a different experience in Dallas than in Pittsburgh.
Here’s some notable receivers DeArdo lists as Washington’s Pittsburgh competition: Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ryan Switzer, Chase Claypool, and Diontae Johnson. These players caused Washington’s dip down the depth chart. However, this doesn’t mean that Washington doesn’t have potential.
At 5-foot-11 and 213 pounds, DeArdo said that Washington showed he has deep threat ability, averaging 14.3 yards per catch, and played well against hard corner-back play. He was effective in the slot where could use his talents best.
With Cooper gone and Lamb seemingly taking over an outside spot, Washington now in the slot can make sense. Along with the previous skills, Helman said that Washington has more to his skillset that the Cowboys can utilize.
Washington feels like he brings physicality, run game and blocking ability, strength with bringing in passes, and work ethic to Dallas. Washington feels like he can match the talent of Lamb and Gallup in relation to their physicality. Washington sounds eager to prove these claims.
After watching him play in Pittsburgh, his talent is evident. When playing on the field, Washington made great plays and showed consistency no matter what quarterback threw footballs his way. It’s a shame that he didn't have a chance to show more of what he could offer in Pittsburgh. However, it’s great to hear that Washington now lives a “dream come true,” in Dallas, Rob Phillips quoted Washington in his Dallas Cowboys article.
Washington is from Texas, and he said that “This is like a small-town kid’s dream to play for the Dallas Cowboys.” With Lamb and Gallup most likely being the starters and Brown being the third string, Washington will likely have a battle with Brown for that third string spot.
In all honesty, that’s a battle that Washington can possibly win, especially once he learns the Cowboy’s system. Potentially, there’s a good chance that Washington will get the playing time he lacked in Pittsburgh.
At just 25 years old, and with his talent, adding Washington to the roster could have a good chance of benefiting the Cowboys down the line. Although the Cowboys lost some key pieces, the future of their wide receiver core may look brighter than what it seems.