The Dallas Cowboys‘ offense is in a bit of a transition period.
This is especially true at running back and along the offensive line, which could put an added emphasis on adding playmakers in the passing game during the NFL Draft.
Both in terms of adding to quarterback Dak Prescott‘s arsenal for the 2024 season and as a potential insurance policy on possibly losing CeeDee Lamb, ahead of what is bound to be a significant contract extension, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cowboys take a wide receiver early in this year’s draft.
In CBS Sports’ latest mock draft projection, the Cowboys walk away from Round 1 with University of Texas star receiver Xavier Worthy in tow.
“Why can’t the Cowboys add a young, elite burner to the receiver group?” Chris Trapasso writes for CBS Sports. “Worthy staying in-state would be fun for Dak Prescott.”
Worthy would add an element of explosiveness to Prescott’s repertoire.
Last season in Austin, Worthy caught 75 passes for 1,014 yards with five touchdowns while averaging 13.5 yards per reception as a focal point in the Longhorn’s aerial attack.
Pairing Worthy opposite Lamb presents a real possibility that the Cowboys would finish the 2024 season with one of the more dynamic receiving duos in the NFL.
Xavier Worthy NFL Draft Scouting Report
Worthy stole the show at the NFL Combine, which caused his NFL Draft stock to surge.
After posting a record 4.21-second 40-yard dash, it was easy to see that Worthy has the speed to take the top off an opposing defense, which he frequently showed during his collegiate career.
Across three seasons at Texas, Worthy caught 197 passes for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns.
“Worthy will find separation if allowed to explore vertically or across the hashes against man coverage,” Lance Zierlein writes of Worthy for NFL.com. “But he lacks play strength and release quickness to defeat a quality NFL press. His quick-strike potential adds an element of danger over the top and should open wider windows for teammates to work into.”
Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus points out that Worthy forced 13 missed tackles during the 2023 season while posting 234 deep yards. Adding to Worthy’s allure is the fact that he has experience playing out wide, lining up on the perimeter for 294 snaps last season, and in the slot, where he lined up for 196 snaps.
Jerry Jones Opens Up on Possible CeeDee Lamb Cowboys Extension
The Cowboys are allowing Prescott to play out the final year of his contract, but it sounds as though Lamb is a top organizational priority.
During the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opened up about the pitfalls of possibly Lamb to test free agency to find his true market value.
“He’s out there and he’s more valuable than anybody else,” Jones said, via the team’s official website. “But that valuable, to have to give up four or five players to have him, you have to get that reconciled. That’s what I’m trying to say. It’s a lot quicker and easier said than done.”
Lamb caught a career-high 135 passes for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns, during a breakout 2023 campaign, cementing his status as one of the Cowboys’ most vital offensive weapons.
However, Jones sounds less than convinced that he’ll be able to keep Lamb in a Cowboys uniform.
“Whoever has CeeDee, and I hope it’s us, they’re going to use him,” Jones said. “You have to. You just have to get that kind of mileage out of him. What has he shown us? That he’s capable of carrying that load. We’ve gotta have focus.”
Like Heavy.com’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy.com
The post Cowboys linked to ‘elite burner’ to Help Dak Prescott appeared first on Heavy.com.