From @ToddBrock24f7: Tolbert will wear No. 1 this season and aim to get a stranglehold on the team’s WR3 slot, with a little help from veteran Brandin Cooks.
Among the Cowboys players who took a giant leap from 2022 to 2023 was wide receiver Jalen Tolbert. The third-round pick out of South Alabama was practically invisible within the Dallas offense as a rookie, catching just two balls on the season for 12 yards across eight game appearances.
Things took a dramatic turn for the better last year, with the 25-year-old seeing action in every contest of the season, watching his targets go up by 1,100%, and scoring his first two NFL touchdowns, all while becoming a more trusted part of Dak Prescott’s pass-catching arsenal.
Last season, Tolbert was vying with Michael Gallup for reps. Now Gallup is gone, and the WR3 spot is there for the taking.
Tolbert plans to make the most of his coming chance.
“Having an opportunity to fill a role in the offense and be able to step up and make a lot more plays for the offense- and for the team as well- is special,” Tolbert told reporters from the dugout at last week’s Reliant Home Run Derby charity event, “and I’m looking forward to doing it and continuing to grow each and every day to be what the team needs me to be.”
Helping him get there is Brandin Cooks. The 11th-year veteran was cast into a strong mentorship role in his first season with the Cowboys, but he’s taking it even further this year. And he’s treating Tolbert as his protege, already hosting him at his home in Oregon for over a week this offseason.
“He came out [for] just a couple days last year, but I wanted to have him out there a little longer this year, just kind of show him the ropes,” Cooks said last week. “For me, I remember Steve Smith let me stay at his house for a couple weeks when I was young. It’s all about passing it along, right? You gain knowledge, you pass it along. That’s what this game is all about.”
Cooks believes that Tolbert has the goods to take an even bigger step in this, his third season in the pros.
“The kid is special,” Cooks explained. “The ability, the talent is there. I just look forward to him really getting his shot and being out there.”
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Tolbert readily admits that he’s looking to “just go out there and chase greatness,” and he maintains he’s as confident as ever now that he’ll be returning for a second straight year of Mike McCarthy’s offensive gameplan.
If there were any questions about the lofty expectations Tolbert has for himself, he’ll make that crystal-clear when he takes the field wearing the No. 1 jersey for the Cowboys in 2023.
“It’s a blessing,” he said of the switch. “Not a lot of people get to, obviously, play for the Dallas Cowboys, but to also be able to wear a single digit and one that holds a little value like that one. Like I say, I love the opportunity that I have in front of me and looking forward to representing that No. 1 well, just as Cedrick Wilson did when he had it on.”
Wilson was a versatile role-player on the team for three seasons. With the same kind of incremental jump this year that he took from Year One to Year Two, though, Tolbert could blow past Wilson statistically and truly make the No. 1 jersey his own, after short- and largely forgettable- stints in it by Jayron Kearse and Kelvin Joseph.
For Tolbert, this is the year to cement his place as a legitimate receiving threat and start attacking even bigger goals.
“Not to set them too high,” he said, “but, I mean, do what a lot of people think that I can’t do and that I know that I can do. That’s my goal, is to go out and prove to myself that I am who I say I am.”
He’s already proving it to his 30-year-old teammate and mentor.
“With Brandin Cooks coming in and being a mentor to me helped me a lot in understanding the game and the little things that you need to be great at this level. He’s done it for a long time, so having him in my corner as well is special,” Tolbert said.
“I know one thing for sure: he’s not going to let me fail, and I’m not going to let myself fail, so that’s a good situation to be in.”
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