Jalen Tolbert: Cowboys player to watch in training camp

As the Dallas Cowboys let wide receiver Michael Gallup go in the 2024 offseason, the battle for the third wide receiver spot has opened up. CeeDee Lamb remains the Cowboys’ number one receiver, with WR2 Brandin Cooks and tight end Jake Ferguson behind him as the likely big targets for quarterback Dak Prescott.

But receiver Jalen Tolbert now looks to add value to that receiving core as well after a breakout season in 2023. Besides Tolbert, there are a few other receivers who will be competing for the WR3 spot - KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, and rookie Ryan Flournoy.

Dallas Cowboys training camp: Full schedule

Why Jalen Tolbert is the player to watch in Cowboys training camp

After a forgettable rookie season, Tolbert made major improvements in the 2023 season. In his first year, he had just two receptions for 12 yards. In his second, he had 22 receptions for 268 yards and two touchdowns. When he played for South Alabama, he recored 82 catches for 1,474 yards and eight touchdowns in his final year, which is what made him the Cowboys’ third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Now, he’ll be looking for more opportunities to show off that talent.

If Lamb does sit out during training camp, which it looks like could be a real possibility, then that would give Tolbert even more of a chance to get familiar playing with Prescott. Despite his rather unimpressive stats thus far, Tolbert has still outperformed Turpin and Brooks. Flournoy for his part is just a rookie, so it’s hard to say what kind of competition he’ll put up, but he’s coming into the league quite green.

It will be fun to see how all the receivers play during training camp, but Tolbert is predicted to be the breakout player of the camp and has already impressed in offseason workouts. The Cowboys head to Oxnard, California on Tuesday, July 23 with the opening press conference the next day. The first training camp practice will be on Thursday, July 25.