Predicting the Dallas Cowboys Final 53-man Roster in 2020 (V1.0)

Receiver (5)

Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Cedrick Wilson, Jon’Vea Johnson

Going against conventional wisdom I’m predicting Dallas only keeps five WRs since John Fassell prefers to use defensive players on special teams coverage more than offensive players. I’m also predicting two surprises at WR4 and WR5.

With the slot blocking ability of rookie CeeDee Lamb, Noah Brown finally gets unseated as the inside blocking specialist. And while the 28-year-old Devin Smith is the more proven NFL player, he’s going to lose out to Cedrick Wilson.

Wilson, 24, is coming into his 3rd season having done virtually nothing since being drafted out of Boise State in the 2018 NFL Draft. But he’s shown things in previous camps that are going to endear him to the new coaching staff. From the moment Wilson was drafted he was one of the most intelligent WRs on the team. Garrett made comments in his rookie mini camps that he could be used everywhere because he knew all the assignments. He’s also a good special teams returner and contributor which is a valuable trait as a WR4. Devin Smith doesn’t offer all of that.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say Jon’Vea Johnson will fix the one thing that prevented him from securing a job last season: dropped balls. Jon’Vea was dominant in training camp last season and was penciled in to win a spot on the 53 until the dropsies came. But in preseason action, Johnson looked incompetent. Dropping ball after ball and making it impossible for Dallas to give him a job.

If Johnson can correct those game day jitters, he’s a perfect player to round out the roster. Not only is his route running good (it was second to only Amari) and his separation consistent (again, second to Amari), but he has big play ability as well. In coming weeks, I’ll discuss him more, but for now just keep in mind he was brilliant throughout camp and if it wasn’t for ill-timed drops, he’d be on everyone’s list. Punt/kick return ability seals the deal here.

Dallas doesn’t need their WR4 and WR 5 to have starting WR ability. They need them to be useful. That’s why the best man may not get the job but rather the right man.

Roster Spots: 25/53