Five Dallas Cowboys with the biggest Boom-Bust potential

Rico Gathers, TE

Rico Gathers is entering the third, and possibly final, year of his developmental process here in Dallas. It’s put-up or shut-up time for this fan favorite and the next few weeks will be critical to his future with the team.

Boom

Rico Gathers, 6’6” 285lbs, is a physical marvel. The former Baylor basketball player is built like a power forward and moves like a point guard. His basketball background shows up in his uncanny ability to use his body to shield the ball in tight spaces and high-point in jump ball situations.

His strong hands make him a weapon as a receiver, and his size makes him an extremely capable blocker. The ceiling for Rico is through the roof. We’re talking All-Pro levels here. Rico is a homerun swing with stikeout potential and even making the 53-man roster is far from a sure thing.

Bust

Despite the immense potential, Rico is on the outside looking in when it comes to making the final roster. Before being drafted, Gathers hadn’t played football since middle school. As such, he became the project of all projects.

He red-shirted his first season and was strategically stashed on IR in Year 2. This season he has a lot to prove and not a whole lotta time to do so. The coaching staff doesn’t seem especially enamored with his development and may opt for safer options when building the depth chart. Rico has been showing good things in camp so far and appears to have worked on his blocking quite a bit in the offseason. But will it be enough? Does he understand defenses enough?

Rico Gathers arguably has the biggest delta of them all when you consider this man could either be an All-Pro or miss the 53-man roster cut altogether. (to catch up Rico read, Can Rico make the team as only a pass-catcher?)