Dallas Cowboys: Revisiting the Wide Receiver Room
The Cuts:
Jon’Vea Johnson, Jalen Guyton, and Reggie Davis
Let’s break down the individual cases shall we?..
Johnson was undrafted out of Toledo. Even though Johnson has elite athleticism and great production, Johnson had a case of the drops and had some concentration lapses. After being a surprise in the early parts of training camp, Johnson has struggled with the same issues he had at Toledo.
Through his first two preseason games, Johnson’s stats are as follows:
13 Targets, 4 Receptions, 39 Yards, 9.75 Yards per catch, 3 Drops
This stat line is… not great. A 31% catch rate is very undesirable. Throw in a 9.75 average and 3 drops and I’m not sure that’s a convincing reason for someone to earn themselves a spot on the roster.
Johnson is really good a really good route runner but a part of the job description for a wide receiver is to “receive” the ball. Johnson might need time to develop his hands for the professional game, otherwise he might be a “what if” scenario for the future.
Jalen Guyton was also undrafted out of North Texas. After displaying blazing speed at the UNT pro day, Guyton expectation was to help Prescott stretch the field vertically. He was playing well to start training camp. That hasn’t transitioned to the actual game.
Through his first two preseason games, Guyton’s stats are as follows:
6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards, 7 Yards per catch
Guyton hasn’t been able find significant playing time with the other receiving options on this team. Even so, 2 receptions in two games isn’t eye-popping. (If it is, it’s eye-popping in a negative fashion) Unlike Johnson, Guyton isn’t garnering a significant amount of targets. How can someone catch the football if they quarterback isn’t looking for them?
Guyton could be someone the Cowboys look to stow away in their practice squad with the hope he can develop for years to come. Immediately having to acclimate yourself to an NFL offense after having played in a spread attack for 2 years is a tough task. However, if Guyton has proven anything as his career has progressed, it’s that he gets better with time.
Reggie Davis is in his fourth year from Georgia and came into camp as a deep threat. With blazing sub 4.4 40 yard dash speed, Davis’s athleticism has been on display. The only question regarding him was if that athleticism could be useful on the football field.
So far, that question has yet to be answered.
5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards, 7.5 Yards per catch, 2 muffed punts, 1 fumble loss
How the Cowboys feel about Davis might be more indicative by how they use him as opposed to the his production. The Cowboys are trying to use him as a punt returner and a guy who can catch underneath routes with the hope he can turn them into long gains.
As a punt returner he’s muffed 2 punts and he’s only caught 40 percent of his passes. That type of production doesn’t generally help someone who’s trying to make a roster for the first time against players who are younger than him.
Davis’s production in-game has yet to match all the good things he is doing in practice.
Something I should’ve mentioned with all three receivers above is they’ve played with Mike White who’s averaging 3.54 yards per attempt and 48% completion. It’s hard to catch passes from a QB who isn’t playing well but the wide receiver also deserves some blame in terms of final production.