Is this the Dallas Cowboys Most Disappointing Player?

The Dallas Cowboys have had their share of individual struggles en route to their 2-1 record this season. Is this player struggling the most?

Perhaps it’s unrealistic expectations or perhaps is just misevaluation but call me disappointed. I fully expected receiver Terrance Williams to be enjoying a break out season, in this, the year before he hits free agency for the first time. I wrote an article titled, Don’t Sleep on Terrance Williams, proclaiming as much.

Three games into the 2016, I and many others look dead wrong.

Over the past three weeks Terrance Williams has come under considerable fire. Some criticism is fair and some, not so fair. There was the game-ending play he stayed inbounds for, killing all chance of a comeback. And there was the catch and run that resulted in an embarrassing fumble that eventually became seven points for the opponent.

Bryan Broaddus from Dallascowboys.com was quick to point out that Terrance Williams actually had a pretty decent game on Sunday night.

"“It’s a shame that all the fans will remember from Terrance Williams’ night was his fumble in the third quarter,” Broaddus said. “In reality, Williams played well, both as a receiver and when he was asked to block in the running game”"

Fans will only remember that because it significantly changed the momentum of the game and if the opponent would have been someone other than the Bears, the results could have been tragic. As mentioned above, the catch and run that was setting up to be another Dallas Cowboys score, ended up as seven points for the Bears.

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Turnovers should not be taken lightly and if that’s all fans take away from Terrance Williams’ performance on Sunday, then they have a pretty fair assessment of what his impact was.

Bryan was right that Williams appeared to be having a good game up to that point. His 4 receptions for 88 yards were by far his best output of the season. But that’s about it. Currently Terrance Williams is rated as the 92^nd player on Pro Football Focus’ player ratings. 92^nd of 110 players rated, I might add.

Rating each snap of his play this season, Williams has been nothing more than average as a blocker and far below average as route runner and pass catcher. His seven catches for 122 yards aren’t terrible but it’s the play beyond the stats that’s causing so many to sour on #83.

Lofty Expectations?

Perhaps the expectations are just too lofty. After all, it’s not like he was a first round draft pick or anything.

Drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Williams was still regarded by many as a potential steal for the Dallas Cowboys.

And why not? Williams not only had size and speed (6’2” 208lbs, 4.52 40-time) but he also had multiple years of college production under his belt.

His senior year at Baylor he had 1,832 receiving yards which was good for a 140.9 yards per game average. It’s amazing he fell very far through the second round let alone made it to the 74^th pick.

Terrance Williams did little to disappoint his rookie season. He racked up an impressive 736 yards on 44 receptions. He made some boneheaded mistakes along the way but all in all, not too shabby for a rookie. In the two years since, he’s had equally as impressive campaigns, even statistically having a career year last season as the Dallas Cowboys #1 receiver.

But those boneheaded plays never seemed to stop happening…

Again, it was his play beyond the statistics that tell the real story. Whether it’s dropped balls, sloppy routes, lazy effort, or mental errors Terrance Williams has never been dependable.

Consider the following: Defenses usually consider Terrance Williams the fifth option on the Dallas Cowboys offense. Stopping Dez Bryant from making big plays is priority #1. Then it’s neutralizing the running game. After that it’s either Jason Witten or Cole Beasley. Finally, at #5, it’s Terrance Williams.

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You’d expect more from a player who’s almost exclusively single covered and generally forgotten by the defense. But you’d be wrong for doing so. Terrance Williams isn’t a bum and heck, he’ll probably have another decent statistical season. But it’s the other stuff that’s hurting him. Inconsistent routes, questionable effort, and a propensity for mistakes.

Plain and simple, he’s been my most disappointing player in 2016. Who’s yours?

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