Cowboys veteran says third-year WR is going to 'crush' expectations

The Cowboys were arguably the least active team in free agency this offseason, which means they will need to heavily rely on their younger players to continue developing into larger roles.

Luckily for Dallas, veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks is seeing just that out of the team's 2022 third-round pick, wide receiver Jalen Tolbert.

"He's ready to go. Whatever the expectation is for him out there, I'm telling you he's going to crush it. He's ready," Cooks said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. "The way that he's able to talk about a route or the way he's able to tell the quarterback the way he sees things, he's not shy anymore."

Tolbert may not be a common household name since he registered just 22 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns last season, but that was still an improvement from his two receptions for 12 yards in his rookie year.

Cooks isn't the only one who sees big things for Tolbert in his third year. Wide receivers coach Robert Prince has also said he expects the 25-year-old to "make a jump."

"We expect all of those guys to make a jump," Prince said, via the team's official website. "It starts with [Jalen Tolbert]. He made a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2, and we expect the same thing to happen for him going into Year 3."

The Cowboys not only expect Tolbert to take his game to another level in 2024, but they need him to.

Dallas released wide receiver Michael Gallup in March while All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb is not expected to attend OTAs as he looks for a new contract.

Tolbert won't have all the weight on his shoulders with fellow wide receivers Jalen Brooks, KaVontae Turpin and Ryan Flournoy as well as tight ends Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker. However, Tolbert knows how important this season will be for him.

"That's my goal, to go out and prove to myself; I am who I say I am," Tolbert said. "Obviously, you hear that all the time. But just go out there and chase greatness. I have two guys who ride along with me in CeeDee (Lamb) and (Brandin) Cooks, and I'm looking forward to following in their footsteps and doing what I can to create value on this team."