5 notable free agent wide receivers the Dallas Cowboys should be considering

The Dallas Cowboys have a need at wide receiver. This was true before the Cowboys ever touched down in Oxnard, California for training camp, but it has only been magnified since arriving. Veteran James Washington, the team’s first external free agent signing of the offseason, seemed to have a light injury scare last week that wound up being nothing, but unfortunately he was carted off of the practice field on Monday with what is feared to be a foot fracture.

Obviously the hope is that all is well with Washington and that he is able to return to the team sooner rather than later. But the reason that Dallas needed help at the position even a few weeks ago was because professional football is a battle of attrition. You have to prepare for the worst case scenario and for injuries to happen.

It is highly possible that the Cowboys now feel a bigger need to add to their receiver room. Here are five names that they should consider looking at.

Will Fuller V

Truth be told this seems like the most logical fit all things considered. James Washington seemingly presents a deep-threat option in the Cowboys offense and that is how Will Fuller has had high levels of success throughout his NFL career.

Fuller spent the first five seasons of his career with the Houston Texans before heading to the Miami Dolphins in 2021 where he only played in three games. A finger injury was a part of that, but ultimately it is hard not to be intrigued by his talent and the specific type of weapon that he would give this offense.

Emmanuel Sanders

Much has been made about the Super Bowl that Mike McCarthy won at AT&T Stadium, well Emmanuel Sanders was on the other side of that game as a rookie on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sanders has had an impressive career since then, though. His highest level of success came with the Denver Broncos where he was a part of the team that won Super Bowl 50, and ever since then he has bounced around through a handful of different teams.

The last few years have still seen legitimate levels of production for Sanders despite playing for so many different teams and quarterbacks. In 2020 he caught 61 passes for 726 yards and five touchdowns with the New Orleans Saints meanwhile last season he hauled in 42 for 626 and four scores with the Buffalo Bills.

It is clear that Sanders is trying to latch on to teams who can have success. He played collegiately at SMU so he has familiarity with the Dallas area. This fit might make sense for all parties involved.

Cole Beasley

Another member of the Buffalo Bills last year, Cowboys fans obviously know Cole Beasley rather well. There is no denying that Beasley still has the skillset to be a productive slot receiver, but a question has always been whether he is more versatile than that. We know that the Cowboys like to move CeeDee Lamb around and use him in the slot as well, but Beasley undeniably raises the floor of the room which is sort of the point.

Last week he declared that he would return to the team to play with Dak Prescott, but over the last two years he has become a bit of a lightning rod. We will see if the Cowboys feel like going down that path.

T.Y. Hilton

Once upon a time T.Y. Hilton was one of the more underrated receivers in the NFL, but considering he was drafted a decade ago those days are a bit in the rearview mirror.

To date Hilton has only played with the Indianapolis Colts although they have seen a ton of turnover at the quarterback position in recent years. Hilton reached 762 receiving yards in 2020, but he only played in nine games last season which hindered his opportunity for production.

If the Cowboys do wind up signing someone you would think that it would have to be a reliable player from a health perspective. Hilton might not necessarily check that box in the way that they would want, but there aren’t exactly a ton of options available at the moment.

Odell Beckham Jr.

This is definitely the least likely situation here and looking more at the long game, but at this point it feels like everything is worth discussing.

Odell Beckham Jr. has been one of the most electrifying players throughout the NFL but has bounced around a bit over the last few years. He was a member of the Los Angeles Rams team that won the Super Bowl last year, but he tore his ACL in that game and is therefore further back than Michael Gallup in the recovery process which means he doesn’t totally fill the void.

But the Cowboys would have quite the horizon on the way if both Beckham and Gallup were waiting in the wings to return at a certain point. Of course they would have to get there which would be a challenge, again anything should be talked about at this point which is why we are having these conversations out loud.