Dallas Cowboys: Do the Cowboys Have a Home Run Threat

The Dallas Cowboys retained Terrance Williams and drafted Ryan Switzer, but are the Dallas Cowboys still missing a home run threat?

First, let’s be clear, Ezekiel Elliott is a home run threat whenever and wherever he touches the ball. The real question here is do the Dallas Cowboys have a wide receiver who is a home run threat.

Without argument, Dez Bryant is the best receiver on the Dallas Cowboys. Even with injuries last season he pulled in about 800 yards and 8 touchdowns. However, Dez has never really been a home run threat. He uses his size and lateral quickness to make catches, gain yards, and break some tackles. If you want Dez to win a contested 20 yard pass, he will do that. If you want Dez to take the roof off of a defense, well he isn’t exactly the receiver for that.

Last season, Dez was ranked 9th for yards per catch at 15.92. His 40 yard time is a 4.52, and while this doesn’t always equate to game speed, rarely do you see Dez outrun people. He has lateral quickness and uses it to create separation.

Terrance Williams

On the other side is Terrance Williams. Williams is more of a finesse receiver who has speed, but rarely uses it to break one open. His lack of consistency has been his biggest knock by analysts and fans alike. When Williams is on, he can tap his toes on the sideline better than anyone. Williams can be good, but Williams can also disappear and drop passes. His lack of consistency is why many fans wanted to move on from him.

Williams had a 4.48 40 yard dash at the combine and seems to be the fastest receiver on the Dallas Cowboys. Williams was ranked 37th last season in yards per catch at 13.5 yards. He tends to run a lot of out routes and tries to use the sideline to his advantage. This could be why his speed never really shows up a lot on film. So again, rarely do you see him outrun people.

Cole Beasley

Cole Beasley seems like he is moving a million miles per hour. Every time I watch him I repeatedly say all he does is move chains. I say this because it seems every time he catches the ball it results in a first down. However, Beasley averaged only 11.1 yards per catch last season and his 40 yard time is only a 4.49. Not exactly what it looks like when you watch him, but thinking about it he never really outruns a lot of people.

Instead Beasley tends to run underneath routes and uses his shifty running style to gain a few extra yards. His lateral speed is great and he tends to fool a lot of people while he picks up a few extra yards at the end of runs.

Ryan Switzer

With the drafting of Ryan Switzer the Dallas Cowboys have drafted essentially another Cole Beasley. Not that this is a bad thing, because I think he will cause a lot of problems for defenses. However, Switzer only ran a 4.51 40 yard time and watching him he uses his shifty running style similar to Beasley. Switzer looks to be better in the return game in terms of vision, but again, not a guy who will outrun a lot of people.

So where does that leave the Dallas Cowboys? Well let’s look at the rest of the corps really quickly…

The Depth Chart

Brian Brown out of Richmond ran a 4.6. He runs strong routes, but rarely outran a lot of people. Noah Brown ran a 4.5 40 yards and has really good hands. He isn’t going to take the roof off of a defense either. Andy Jones is another 4.59 40 yard guy and looks more like a prototypical slot receiver. Uzoma Nwachukwu is a 4.46 guy and has speed, but his issues are his average hands. He is inconsistent at best and while he might be a home run threat, until he shows he can hold onto a pass, he will have an uphill climb.

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The only two receivers the Dallas Cowboys have on roster that could be considered a home run threat are Lucky Whitehead and Brice Butler. First, Whitehead has shown he is one of the least consistent receivers the Dallas Cowboys have. He is quick and looks like he has plenty of speed, his lack of consistent hands and average route running doesn’t give him a lot of chance to be a home run threat.

Butler on the other hand has the speed and has shown to have better hands. But Butler’s routes are sloppy and he is wildly inconsistent.

So do the Dallas Cowboys have a home run threat?

Well, yes and no.

Butler and Whitehead could be considered home run threats, however, their inconsistency doesn’t evoke a lot of confidence.

Dez might be the closest thing they have to a threat at receiver, however, as the number one receiver and lack of consistency on the other side, teams will usually roll a safety over top of him and force him to make shorter catches. At the end of the day the Dallas Cowboys are still looking for a consistent home run threat.

Next: Cowboys: Who will be this year’s ‘Benson Mayowa’?

Maybe Butler can become a little more consistent, but he is turning 28 and could be the best he will be. All this being said, the Dallas Cowboys’ offense tends to force defenses to pick a poison which does open up the passing game if teams choose to focus on Witten and Elliott. If teams focus on Dez and Witten, it allows for Elliott and Beasley to beat teams underneath.

So until someone steps up as a viable home run threat, the answer is no, there is no home run threat, but this is such a terrific offense it may not need one.

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Do the Dallas Cowboys have a home run threat?

By Daniel Ruppert | May 22, 2017