Commanders: Ranking the NFC East receivers and tight ends for 2022

3. Dallas Cowboys

I’m not quite sure what the Dallas Cowboys did with Amari Cooper. After giving up a first-round pick for him back in 2018, they rather unceremoniously dumped him for a fifth-rounder this offseason. That doesn’t seem like good asset management.

I always thought Cooper was somewhat overrated – not an elite WR1. But he certainly is a very good player who’s owned Washington and even if Dallas became convinced CeeDee Lamb is all that and a bag Cool Ranch Doritos, Cooper would have made Dak Prescott’s life a lot easier.

But he is gone, and Michael Gallup, Dallas’ only other proven receiving threat, is coming off a torn ACL. His prognosis is good, but both he and Lamb will have meet or exceed expectations for Dallas to have the kind of passing attack it wants.

They have a lot of big, fast kids behind Lamb and Gallup, and if one of them – Jalen Tolbert will get the first crack – steps up, this could be a productive group of receivers. But there are a lot of unknowns. And if Lamb turns out to be just a regular old-fashioned brand of Doritos, they are in big trouble. Just because you wear No. 88 for Dallas, you don’t stroll into Canton. There is a lot of pressure on the third-year player.

And there is a lot of pressure on tight end Dalton Schultz. Without Tyron Smith, downfield opportunities to Lamb and Gallup could be limited. Dallas does have a couple other tight ends, but neither Jake Ferguson nor Peyton Hendershot are going to scare anyone. Schultz will have to come up big for Dak. He’s good enough to do it. Now that he is the clear No.1 (franchise-tagged this off-season), we’ll see how well he lives up to the pressure.