Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft: Upgrade the attack
LaViska Shenault, WR, Colorado
Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and LaViska Shenault on the same wide receiving core.
Sign! Me! Up!
Shenault is originally from the Dallas area having played his high school career at Desoto High School. After receiving a scholarship offer from the Buffaloes, he took is talents to Boulder and did just about everything on the offensive side of the ball.
Shenault is quite the athlete. He has the perfect blend of speed, size, and body control needed to be a receiving threat all over the field. Colorado realized this and lined him just about everywhere. Shenault lined up at H-back, outside receiver, slot receiver, running back, and even wildcat QB.
As a result, in 2018, through 9 games, he had accounted for half of the team’s total scrimmage yardage.
Yes you read that correctly.
The production and versatility made Shenault a popular wide receiver to start the 2019 season even though he had yet to complete a full season of college football.
2019 came and his stats saw a regression. While that is concerning, that isn’t as indicative of Shenault as you might think. Shenault’s role reduced, which was actually a really good thing, and he had to deal with really lacking quarterback play in the form of Steven Montez.
Rewatching his tape, Shenault improved as a route runner and was open a lot. He continued to understand how to use his big body to win leverage battles against his defenders and he understood how to break his routes better. While still a work in process, the improvement was there and that is what matters more in the end than a regression in receiving stats.
So how does he fit on the Cowboys?
He’d actually be great for Head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy has drafted a lot of big receivers in the past. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was great at throwing back shoulder and 50/50 balls to tall receivers, hence having big receivers with superior body control and ball tracking skills was important. Is that applicable with quarterback Dak Prescott though?
It took the Cowboys almost three years to figure this out, but the receivers best suited for Dak Prescott are excellent route runners. That is why Prescott formed an early connection with Cole Beasley, it is why things immediately clicked between him and Amari Cooper, and it is eventually why Michael Gallup caught passes for 1,000 yards this season.
Shenault isn’t an excellent route runner, but considering the improvement he made within one season, it isn’t out of the possibility that the connection between the two could be amazing. After all, Prescott has improved his ability to throw fades and over the shoulder this season.
Throw in Shenault’s versatility to lineup anywhere, we could see Mike McCarthy use Shenault like he used wide receiver Randall Cobb’s versatility. (Cobb was on the Cowboys last season and McCarthy is now the coach of the Cowboys, but Cobb is not currently on the payroll for next season)
It is also worth noting that Noah Brown was kept on the roster because of his ability to play H-back and block as a wide receiver. Shenault provides the same ability, albeit at a higher price point, but the additional value Shenault brings as a receiver would effectively end the Noah Brown experiment.
Adding Shenault to an already good wide receiving corp would take the Cowboys offense to ridiculous heights. Perhaps then the Cowboys would feel more inclined let Dak Prescott pass for 5,000 yards in a season.