The Cowboys drafted Jalen Tolbert in the third round. They nearly took him in the second. But the rookie wide receiver from South Alabama could end up being even far more valuable than that.
It’s been just rookie minicamp, one weekend of work. And fairly light-duty work at that. But Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore already likes what he’s seen.
“He’s awesome,” Moore said of Tolbert after just the first day. “I think he works his tail off. I think you can tell how prepared he is and how detailed he wants to be. I think he’s going to be a really good addition for us.”
But that addition may be able to multiply his worth to the Dallas roster by serving in several different roles.
“We’ll try to get him to learn as many spots as possible,” Moore previewed. “We’ll start him in a Z-type position, maybe play him in the slot. We’ll get him moved all around the field. We like to do that with a number of our receivers, so we’ll do the same thing with him.”
The 23-year-old says he’s more than ready for that kind of multitasking, thanks to his experience at the college level under the tutelage of a former Texas legend.
“Two years ago, I really just played outside receiver. And this past year, Major Applewhite, my OC, brought down the pro-style system.”
Applewhite was the Longhorns’ prolific quarterback from 1998 to 2001 and still holds a handful of school passing records. Now the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the South Alabama Jaguars, he helped develop Tolbert into the Sun Belt Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year last season.
“I was able to play the 3, 2, 1, single, wherever they put me at; I played multiple spots in the game. I think that’s something Coach McCarthy loves about my game is that my versatility showed up on tape. When I talked with him, that’s one thing he emphasized, me learning all the spots. So if CeeDee or MG have got to go somewhere else,” Tolbert explained, “I can…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Cowboys Wire…