With No Randall Cobb, Duvernay to the Dallas Cowboys Could Make Sense

After one season with the Cowboys, WR Randall Cobb has moved on. To replace him, Dallas should look at Devin Duvernay in this year’s draft.

After one season with the Dallas Cowboys, wide receiver Randall Cobb has moved on. Signing a three-year deal with the Houston Texans worth $27 million, Cobb is on to his third career team after also spending eight seasons in Green Bay with the Packers.

For Dallas, Cobb was the replacement for Cole Beasley. Both receivers were smaller, more agile players who would line up in the slot and be reliable targets. Since Dak Prescott took over as the starting quarterback in 2016, Beasley and Cobb caught nearly 70% of all passes thrown towards them.

Now, new head coach Mike McCarthy will be looking for a replacement to Cobb and give Prescott another slot receiver to rely on. With former Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay more than likely available in the later rounds of this year’s NFL Draft, he would make perfect sense in the Cowboys’ offense.

Firstly, from a size comparison, the two are eerily similar. Cobb comes in at 5 feet 10 inches and 192 pounds, while Duvernay is 5 feet 11 inches and 210 pounds. The former Longhorn is slightly bigger, but still fits the role of a typical slot wide receiver in the NFL.

Looking at their combine numbers, Duvernay has better numbers across the board than Cobb. Speed is an important factor, with Duvernay running a 4.39 40-yard dash, while Cobb ran a 4.46 out of college. The Longhorn also has bigger hands, a higher vertical jump, a faster 20-yard shuffle, and a longer broad jump.

What Duvernay does well on the field is catch passes and make people miss. In 2019, Duvernay had 106 receptions, most in the Big 12 and third-most in the entire country. In his junior season in 2018, Duvernay had 41 catches, including no drops.

Having at least six catches in all but one game last season (Alamo Bowl against Utah), Duvernay caught 10 or more passes against LSU, Oklahoma State, and Baylor. Anything quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw at him, Duvernay caught.

According to PFF College, nobody had more broken tackles when thrown a screen pass than Duvernay. His quickness and his shiftiness are what make him such an exciting prospect to many NFL teams.

Wide receiver is a glaring hole for the Cowboys and filling it through the Draft would be the smart route. Needing to spend early-round picks on other positions of need, Duvernay will be sitting there for Jerry Jones to take in the later rounds.

If he does end up in Dallas, he would be linking up with Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Blake Jarwin, and Ezekiel Elliot as targets for Prescott. For a Cowboys offense that was ranked No. 1 last season, Duvernay could come in and make them even more prolific.

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