Cowboys: L. Lenoir, N. Brown, or D. Thompson for last WR spot?

In just four days the Dallas Cowboys will be tasked with cutting their bloated roster down to a paltry 53, meaning tough decisions must be made

On Saturday September 1^st, the Dallas Cowboys (and the rest of the NFL) must cut their roster down to just 53 players. For some positions of concern/depth, this means tough decisions must be made. One position group on the Cowboys that has particular concern and depth is receiver.

Residing on the bubble are receivers Lance Lenoir, Deonte Thompson, and Noah Brown. All are promising players, but given the depth at the position, it’s likely only one, or possibly two, of these players makes the cut.

Each player offers his own unique talent to the receiving corps but choosing incorrectly could come back to haunt the team.

The Receiving Unit

With Dez Bryant gone, the receiver position is wide open on the Cowboys. Dallas must make moves that are wise in both the short-term as well as the long-term. It’s a difficult balance that must be found since the team expects to compete today and tomorrow.

The locks are easy: Allen Hurns, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Tavon Austin, and Michael Gallup. These five guys are all making the team, plain and simple. That leaves Lance Lenoir, Deonte Thompson, and Noah Brown all vying for the last position (or two).

Typically the Cowboys only keep six WRs and they’ve even been known to occasionally go with just five. But given the surprising depth this year, they may find themselves going seven. The question is, who would you choose?

Lance Lenoir – Outside of Jaylon Smith, arguably no one had a better training camp than Lance Lenoir. Don’t let the muffed punts from Sunday overshadow the fact he’s been the crispest route runner on the team and a daily highlight show for the fans (Besides, the real punt returners are going to be Tavon Austin and Cole Beasley).

Lenoir doesn’t have super star ability but he’s a real NFL player who knows how to get open and how to be where he’s supposed to be on time. That’s a very Dak-friendly skill set.

Deonte Thompson – Deonte missed most of camp with a strained Achilles but his history with receivers coach Sanjay Lal, says he started with a leg up. Thompson also has the best deep speed on the team and a track record of big plays. This is something that’s critical to Dak Prescott’s deep ball success.

Working against him is he’s only playing on a one-year deal and he’s the oldest receiver in camp. He’s unquestionably the best option for the short-term but a year from now, could the Cowboys regret cutting Brown or Lenoir in order to keep him?

Noah Brown – Brown has played the least of all of these receivers but he’s also the only one of the three who’s played on the team before. Last season, Brown played 159 snaps for Dallas. Serving primarily as a blocker, Brown put his massive frame to work, becoming a valuable piece to the Cowboys run-first attack.

Brown has starting X receiver potential and can already block better than most of Dallas’ tight ends. If the Cowboys decided to go short at tight end, Brown could help make up for it as a move blocker.

So who makes the cut for you? If you could only keep one, who would it be and why? If you could keep two? Sound off in the comments.

• Published on 08/28/2018 at 12:01 PM
• Last updated at 08/28/2018 at 11:45 AM