Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster projection 3.0: Would you rather…

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ARLINGTON, TX – NOVEMBER 23: Casey Hayward #26 of the Los Angeles Chargers tries to break up a pass intended for Terrance Williams #83 of the Dallas Cowboys in the second half of a football game at AT&T Stadium on November 23, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Receiver (7)

Allen Hurns/Cole Beasley/Terrance Williams/Michael Gallup/Tavon Austin/Lance Lenoir/Denonte Thompson

IR: Noah Brown

The top are virtual locks: Hurns, Bease, and Williams are all proven entities. Michael Gallup is developing nice chemistry with Dak and has WR1 potential. And Austin will play a vital role stretching the field horizontally and keeping defenses from keying in on Zeke.

Here’s where things get dicey. Lance Lenoir may not be flashy but he’s flawless on the field. He runs the best routes and makes the tough catches. He’ll never be a superstar but he’s extremely valuable on an unproven unit such as this.

The problem with Lenoir is he doesn’t stretch the field. In fact, the only guy with deep speed to stretch the field vertically is Deonte Thompson. That’s why, despite missing most of camp with an Achilles injury, I think he’s going to make the team.

Factor in Thompson is also the primary kick returner and has a history with receiver coach Sanjay Lal, and you have a dark horse in this race. If the Cowboys only keep six WR, I think Lenoir gets bumped because he’s redundant in many ways.

Noah Brown becomes the odd man out any way you slice it. He’s been hurt much of camp giving Dallas the opportunity to stash him on IR and either keep him on ice for the year or bring him back mid-season should one of these other players flame out.

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