The Dallas Cowboys are in need of some help at wide receiver behind CeeDee Lamb, and because they were unable to do anything about it in free agency, they’ll have to focus on the NFL Draft.
The draft begins on Thursday night, and the Cowboys own the 24th overall pick.
However, Patrik Walker of the team’s official website thinks that Dallas may end up adding an impact player at wide out on Day 3.
Walker projects the Cowboys to trade up to the 108th overall pick in the fourth round and then has them using that selection to take USC wide receiver Brenden Rice, who is the son of NFL legend Jerry Rice.
Rice is coming off of an impressive 2023 campaign in which he hauled in 45 receptions for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The 22-year-old began his collegiate career at Colorado in 2020 and got off to a slow start, logging six catches for 120 yards and a couple of scores during his freshman year. He followed that up by posting 21 grabs for 299 yards and three touchdowns in 2021.
Rice transferred to USC in 2022, and that year, his role grew exponentially, as he ended up catching 39 passes for 611 yards while reaching the end zone four times.
He then broke out in 2023.
Rice has great size, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing around 210 pounds. He isn’t particularly fast, as he ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine, but he could potentially be a solid possession receiver on the NFL level.
Dallas currently has Brandin Cooks and not a whole lot else behind Lamb, and Cooks was a fairly big disappointment for the Cowboys this past season.
We’ll see how Dallas addresses the receiver position in the draft.
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