Why the Cowboys need production out of James Washington

Entering the 2022 season, there are significant questions surrounding the Cowboys’ receiving core. The departure of both Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson presents the Cowboys with more questions at the position than they’ve been custom to in the past couple of years. Young guys like 2nd year 5th round pick Simi Fehoko and freshly drafted 3rd round pick Jalen Tolbert will both be expected to fill holes left by the roster turnover the teams experienced at the position. With Michael Gallup potentially missing the first few weeks of the season recovering from a torn ACL, the youth movement at WR becomes a lot more urgent.

Throwing two guys into the fire who have never caught an NFL pass is a spot no team wants to be in, especially if you are a team with expectations as high as the Cowboys. Luckily the Cowboys don’t have to, thanks to newly acquired 4-year veteran James Washington. Washington is oozing with talent, and throughout his time in Pittsburgh, he was constantly buried deep in a depth chart of talented receiving groups, and he was never really able to find his groove. But coming back home to a team he will have an essential role on, I think, will unlock some of that talent we didn’t see on the Steelers.

Signing Washington was a move that I felt flew under the radar, and it could prove as an important one. As mentioned earlier, Michael Gallup will probably miss the first few weeks of the season, but even when he comes back, the Cowboys aren’t rich in experience at the position. After Ceedee Lamb and Gallup, you have only one guy who has caught an NFL pass in Noah Brown. The 3rd and 4th receivers aren’t set in stone, and James Washington will likely fill the gap as the 3rd guy.

Washington by no means is a direct replacement for Amari Cooper, but Washington is more than just a replacement signed out of desperation. At first glance, overall measurables aren’t anything to drool over, but there are a few things he brings to the team that I think would benefit the offense.

For starters, Washington has excellent hands, and he uses them to track balls in the air and snag them over defenders. Even at only 5’11”, his ability to pull in passes deep down the field makes him an intriguing player for the Cowboys. Washington excels as a deep threat, and he, along with Gallup, will likely be used out wide, allowing Ceedee to work in the slot.

Washington’s reliance on the deep ball is part of why his career was so disappointing in Pittsburgh. The Steelers didn’t push the ball down the field during his tenure there. They ranked 21 in EPA his four years there. And for someone like Washington lining up as the Z receiver designed to catch the ball deep, that environment wasn’t very conducive to putting up stats.

This is part of why I like to use Washington’s college career as a reference to how good he can be. Washington’s hands and deep play ability are his greatest strengths, but something that’s been lost in the cracks is Washington’s ability as a runner with the ball. He’s not very fast end to end or elusive, but Washington runs hard and constantly showed that he has a deadly stiff arm in open field. Washington is a one-play TD type of player, and that’s something every team can benefit from.

James Washington was underutilized, and playing in an offense that stretches the ball down the field, I think, could unveil what a lot of the league has been sleeping on the past few years. Washington will be critical for the Cowboys, especially with Gallup’s availability early in limbo. Washington wants to revitalize his career, and I have a good feeling Dallas is the best to do it.