Cowboys’ McCarthy: Jalen Tolbert ‘a step behind’ other WRs, but ‘crushing it in practice’

Jalen Tolbert was one of the early standouts of the Cowboys’ rookie minicamp this spring, supposedly brought in to be an immediate contributor to a WR room that had lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson. But when Sunday’s season opener kicked off at AT&T Stadium, the first-year wide receiver out of South Alabama didn’t even dress.

First there was a hamstring tweak at OTAs in early June. Then a disappointing string of performances in the preseason followed. But the third-round pick did enough to make the 53-man roster, and head coach Mike McCarthy says even though he was inactive in Week 1, he’s been trending upward behind the scenes.

“He’s a young player that, frankly, a lot has been asked of him,” McCarthy told media members before Thursday’s practice at The Star. “We were all so impressed when he arrived, and the hamstring injury really played a factor in this, because having him play all the positions- treating him, frankly, how we treated CeeDee [Lamb] when CeeDee arrived [in 2020]- and not really having the opportunities early on special teams, he’s a step behind the other guys. That’s really all it is.”

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said prior to the team’s regular-season debut versus Tampa Bay that the club had “probably given him a bigger challenge than we needed to” in expecting Tolbert to learn the playbook from all the wide receiver positions right out of the gate.

The subsequent lack of reps on special teams is what likely gave the edge to second-year man Simi Fehoko and undrafted rookie Dennis Houston for the opening night roster. Fehoko was in on over half the Cowboys’ special teams snaps Sunday; Houston played on over a third.

Both caught two passes- the same as Lamb, the team’s WR1- in a game where the entire pass-catching group struggled to make an impact. Cowboys wide receivers recorded just 11 receptions on the night for 125 yards.

And it had many wondering when the cavalry might be coming.

Michael Gallup participated in the 7-versus-7 portion of Wednesday’s practice; McCarthy said, “He did a nice job. Looked good.” The plan was for him to then take part in padded work on Thursday, his first time in pads since his ACL injury during the Arizona game in January. It’s a big step in the right direction for the fifth-year wideout, but he is not being looked at as an option for Week 2’s date with Cincinnati.

“If he crosses that hurdle today,” the coach said regarding padded practice, “hopefully we’ll do more next week.”

Of course, veteran James Washington has also been M.I.A. since signing with the club this offseason. A foot fracture suffered in the first padded practice of training camp has kept him sidelined, though he’s slowly working his way back, too.

“James is moving forward,” McCarthy explained. “I think we’re going to do a little more with him next week.”

With Washington also out of the running for this Sunday’s contest, the door might have been cracked enough for Tolbert, a third-round draft pick, to make an impression and climb his way up the depth chart.

But every player’s path is different. And right now, the 23-year-old Alabama native is still working to separate himself from a pack of young and inexperienced receivers.

“I just think it’s kind of where Jalen is, and I think you have to recognize Dennis [Houston] and Simi [Fehoko] for what they’ve done,” McCarthy added. “But yeah, he’s full-go. Just really, I want to say, the last two weeks, he’s been crushing it in practice, so I look for him to push for future opportunities.”

Those future opportunities might even come this weekend versus the Bengals. Based on last Sunday’s underwhelming start from the entire Cowboys air attack and with the whole thing now in the hands of a backup passer for several more weeks, why not give him some meaningful game reps?