Dallas Cowboys: 10 Wide Receivers and Their Fit
Stanley Morgan Jr, Nebraska
What’s Good: Football IQ, Hands, Production, Change of Direction
What Ain’t Good: Athleticism, Play against Press Man
For the last prospect in this article (and the series) we visit the Cornhuskers’ season and career receiving yards leader. The general consensus on Morgan is he is just a guy who catches the ball; he doesn’t provide anything extra as an athlete or talent.
I’d say that claim holds true on tape. Morgan didn’t wow anyone with his 40 yard dash at the Combine and he doesn’t showcase elite speed on film. However, the rest of his combine numbers tell a very different story. His combine numbers according to the NFL were:
Vertical Jump: 38.5″
Broad Jump: 10’5″
3 Cone Drill: 6.78 seconds
Short Shuttle: 4.13 seconds
The three cone drill time is silly and the vertical jump was completely unexpected based on what you see from Morgan’s film. The short shuttle is what I expect from Morgan as he doesn’t possess ridiculous burst when he runs.
Morgan the athlete won’t give teams a reason to draft him, but his production at Nebraska stands out. Without consistently good quarterback play, he set the Nebraska season and career receiving yards record in Lincoln.
So where does Morgan end up on the roster? He is the ideal slot target. He doesn’t effectively deal with press man coverage, but give him room to run and he’ll have a field day. When I watch him play, he looks like Adam Humphries. Last time I checked, he was a popular name for the Cowboys to sign.
He’s an effective route runner on shorter routes or routes that require a decent amount of turns. This could mean anything from a quick out to a corner. He’s able to create separation with his impressive agility even if his defender is faster than him. He is also very sure handed and rarely experiences concentration lapses.
The Cowboys interviewed Morgan at the combine as did many other teams. His size suggests he’s a slot receiver, 6′ and 202 pounds, and his agility times would suggest the same thing. The Cowboys are in need of a long term slot receiver to complement Cooper and Gallup making Morgan a great complement. His projected position in a depth chart is WR 4/5 but I think he could easily find himself 3rd on any teams depth chart.
Next. 10 Tight Ends for the Cowboys. dark
This was my last article in the 10 prospects series. I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I wrote them. I hope the Cowboys will once again come away with a great draft haul so the team can continue its path to the Super Bowl.