Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has averaged nearly 4,700 passing yards and threw 67 touchdown passes over his past two full seasons -- and he was trending toward being an MVP-level quarterback in his truncated 2020 campaign -- but the receiver corps he relied upon during this time looks quite a bit different these days. Gone is trusted veteran Amari Cooper, and the reliable Michael Gallup remains on the mend from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in January. CeeDee Lamb should be awesome and attract much defensive attention, TE Dalton Schultz has already emerged and the running backs will surely contribute, but there is an obvious September opportunity here.
Jalen Tolbert, a third-round selection from South Alabama a few months ago, caught a pair of Cooper Rush passes in Saturday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and while most view it as a negative when anyone potentially relevant plays in an actual preseason game, the Cowboys may have little choice. They just want to see more of Tolbert, a strong route runner who can play both in the slot or on the outside. The Cowboys open with the tough Buccaneers and Bengals, but then it's the Giants in Week 3. That one is appealing!
Another option is the diminutive but exciting KaVontae Turpin (5-foot-9, 155 pounds), who returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns on Saturday. Nobody had done this in any game -- preseason, regular season or playoffs -- since 2013. Turpin gained seven yards on his lone rushing attempt. He led the USFL in receiving yards this past spring and garnered league MVP honors. Turpin played college ball at TCU and the Cowboys have to give him more opportunities.
Again, look at the depth chart here. Tolbert likely starts opposite Lamb, but there's no Gallup in early September and inexpensive free agent signing James Washington fractured his foot a few weeks ago. He's not playing until October, at least. Noah Brown has done little in his four seasons in Dallas. A rookie or two may have to matter here.
While Tolbert was pick No. 88 in the 2022 draft, the Chargers chose Tennessee's Joshua Palmer with the 77th selection in 2021. Palmer caught three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown from Easton Stick on Saturday. He was statistically quiet as a rookie, mainly because veterans Keenan Allen and Mike Williams stayed surprisingly healthy, each playing in 16 games and topping 1,100 receiving yards. Palmer still caught three touchdowns over the final five games. As with Prescott, Chargers ace Justin Herbert is going to throw a lot. Even as the No. 3 receiver, Palmer may exceed 750 receiving yards.
While fantasy managers gravitate toward the big-name rookie wide receivers chosen early in the NFL draft, don't shy away from others secured later, such as Tolbert and Palmer. Detroit Lions fourth-round pick (No. 112 overall) Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 90 passes last season. He was able to do so due to opportunity. Darnell Mooney was a fifth-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 2020 and is a potential WR2 today. Gabriel Davis went in Round 4 that season to the Buffalo Bills. You've heard of him.
In addition to Tolbert, here are five other mid- to later-round WR picks from the 2022 draft that may offer fantasy relevancy this season.
Danny Gray, San Francisco 49ers: The third-round choice from SMU hauled in a 76-yard touchdown from starter Trey Lance in the preseason opener and caught two passes this past weekend. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk will start, but opportunity lurks.
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers: He's been discussed quite a bit by ESPN Fantasy analysts already (he made Tristan H. Cockcroft's deep sleepers list), but Doubs, a fourth-rounder from Nevada, has now caught TD passes in consecutive preseason games. Unlike his quarterback, starting receivers Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb aren't exactly pending Hall of Famers.
David Bell, Cleveland Browns: The third-round pick from Purdue caught three passes for 46 yards on Sunday against the Eagles and figures to start initially out of the slot, with Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones on the outside. Fantasy managers may wish to fade Cleveland wide receivers with Jacoby Brissett starting for three months, and it's a fair point. However, Brissett has really struggled on passes of at least 20 yards downfield in the past. Perhaps myriad shorter passes to the slot options are wiser.
Kyle Philips, Tennessee Titans: While heralded first-rounder Treylon Burks has struggled with injury and inconsistency so far, Philips, a fifth-rounder from UCLA, may get the chance to start out of the slot right away. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is his main competition, but he has been quiet this month. Philips caught one pass this past weekend against the Buccaneers, but the Titans backup quarterbacks completed only 14 passes.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills: The Boise State product from Round 5 caught all of his three targets on Saturday for 59 yards, and while most have assumed that the valuable slot role replacing Cole Beasley would come down to ordinary veterans Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder, they've looked a bit too ordinary. Shakir has looked better. This may get interesting.
Other thoughts from the second preseason weekend
Baker Mayfield seems likely to start over Sam Darnold for the Carolina Panthers, if anyone cares, but it is disappointing that Ole Miss rookie Matt Corral will not be an option later in the season. Corral suffered a Lisfranc foot injury over the weekend and will miss all of 2022. Mayfield should be competent, at the least, but I didn't seriously consider him for inclusion among my top-25 quarterbacks for the season.
I've already ripped the collective group of NFC East starting running backs and actually enjoyed the silly feedback (much of it works to only prove my points), but things may be even more negative than originally deemed for Washington's Antonio Gibson. Brian Robinson started this past weekend and played on three drives, with Gibson playing sporadically later on. Gibson even returned the opening kickoff. It's a sign that the third-round pick from Alabama is the starter. Gibson is giving a lesser Cordarrelle Patterson vibe, only sans the touchdowns. Robinson, who rushed for 31 yards Saturday in a game in which Washington played its healthy players, rises to RB3 territory in my rankings.
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I praised myriad Denver Broncos offensive players in my "Do Draft" blog entry and TE Albert Okwuegbunam was among that group, but things may be trending in the wrong direction here. Okwuegbunam played quite a bit versus Buffalo, deep into the game, while all the other Broncos' relevant options sat. He made a few highlight-reel catches. I just don't see who else starts at tight end here, so I'm leaving Okwuegbunam among the top-20 tight ends for now.
I haven't moved presumed starting Bills RB Devin Singletary out of RB3 range yet, but it may be coming. Georgia rookie James Cook turned five touches into 50 yards on Saturday and must be relevant right away -- at least in a pass-catching role. Meanwhile, bulldozer Zack Moss scored on a pair of 1-yard TD rumbles, a strong harbinger of his likely role. This may be a three-individual committee and enough to ruin Singletary's value.
Washington Commanders TE Logan Thomas hasn't practiced or played with the team yet as he recovers from an ACL tear, but the team activated him from the PUP list on Monday. Perhaps we will see Thomas in September games. Now 31, Thomas caught 72 passes and six touchdowns in 2020, and there's little competition here. I rank Thomas in my top 20 at tight end for a reason.