Cowboys training camp: Jalen Cropper makes most of thin receiver group Tuesday
The Dallas Cowboys resumed practice on Tuesday without their top two receivers. Brandin Cooks was excused from practice for personal reasons, and the absence could also double as a rest day for Cooks, who has endured general knee soreness that has kept him out of practice recently. As for CeeDee Lamb, he remains away from the team in a lengthy contract holdout. Both sides have exchanged offers, and the belief is that the team will agree sometime soon.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the team has said that Trey Lance will play the entirety of the preseason finale. This makes it imperative that the receivers working with Trey Lance set their best foot forward in practices and carry that momentum into the game this week. Today’s undrafted player of the day did just that on Tuesday.
Jalen Cropper, Wide receiver
Jalen Cropper has performed well in practices at training camp, yet, for one reason or another, his success at practice has yet to translate substantially into the preseason. For a moment, Cropper seemed to be emerging from the crowds and separating himself from Kelvin Harmon and Tyron Billy-Johnson among others. However, Cropper’s fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders set his trajectory downwards, and he had to reaffirm himself with the coaches. His practice today was a step in the right direction.
The one thing that has been a constant for Cropper has been his connection with all of the quarterbacks. He’s a very quarterback-friendly target who is mostly sure-handed and can separate from the defenders horizontally. Also, we’ve seen that he can make tough catches in tight windows and knows how to walk the tight rope to get his feet in bounds.
Additionally, Cropper is competing to elevate himself into the fifth receiver for the team. You’d like to expect CeeDee Lamb to return by the cutdown date. Brandin Cooks is joining him at wide receiver, with Jalen Tolbert and Kavontae Turpin as the third and fourth wide receivers. Where Cropper is on the outside looking in, is getting somewhere close to Jalen Brooks who has been outstanding in his own right, and sixth-round draft pick Ryan Flournoy, who had a nice touchdown against the Raiders. The race for the last receiver on the roster is in the homestretch. Stay tuned.