Dallas Cowboys News: Wide Receiver Outlook For 2022 Season

When the Dallas Cowboys start training camp next week, one of the most important units will look much different than it did a season ago. The Cowboys are set to start the 2022 campaign with multiple new starting wide receivers following an offseason that saw big changes.

Dallas traded Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns and lost Cedrick Wilson Jr. to the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Michael Gallup is still on the roster, but there’s a good chance he won’t be ready to play in Week 1 as he continues to recover from a torn ACL.

CeeDee Lamb, the team’s reception leader, is back and expected to be one of the best offensive players in the league.

But after Lamb, who will be Dak Prescott’s most targeted receivers in 2022?

New addition James Washington is likely to be part of Dallas’ starting receiving corps. A second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, Washington signed a one-year contract with the Cowboys. The 26-year-old is coming off a pair of disappointing seasons and hoping to bounce back as part of one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.

Washington’s best season came in 2019 when he caught 44 passes for 735 yards and three scores. The receiver didn’t even total 735 yards in his last two seasons combined.

Then there is Jalen Tolbert, who is expected to be the Cowboys’ third starting receiver. Dallas selected Tolbert out of South Carolina with the 24th pick in the third round of this year’s draft. The Cowboys would likely be more than pleased if Tolbert can match the 45 receptions for 602 yards that Wilson produced with Dallas in 2021.

Tolbert had 82 receptions for 1,474 yards in his senior season.

Noah Brown and Simi Fehoko could also get a chance to have a much greater role in the offense. Since joining the Cowboys as a seventh-round pick in 2017, Brown has just 39 career receptions. Fehoko was a fifth-round pick last year and didn’t have a catch in his rookie season.

Tight end Dalton Schultz is set to return on the franchise tag. Schultz had a career year in 2021 with 78 receptions for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.

Mike McCarthy's offense is coming off an impressive season. The Cowboys led the NFL in total yards (407 per game) and points (31.2 per game) in 2021. Dallas was second in passing yards (282.4 per game).