Tolbert’s confidence is ‘different’ in 2024
Jalen Tolbert is not the same player he was when the Dallas Cowboys took him in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. The former South Alabama great receiver was humbled as a rookie by the challenges of transferring to the NFL, but his rededication last summer, combined with guidance from Dak Prescott and Brandin Cooks, could help Tolbert turn things around in 2023.
And as he heads into the 2024 season with a chance to take up the WR3 slot left open by Michael Gallup’s release, his confidence in himself has never been better. “My rookie year, I think I lost every bit of my confidence,” Tolbert admitted at OTAs. “… I was overthinking everything instead of simply getting out there and having fun, knowing that I belonged here. I’m valuable and capable of playing at a high level. That was something I needed to rebuild… It’s entirely different now. “My confidence has skyrocketed.”
And as he heads into the 2024 season with a chance to take up the WR3 slot left open by Michael Gallup’s release, his confidence in himself has never been better. “My rookie year, I think I lost every bit of my confidence,” Tolbert admitted at OTAs. “… I was overthinking everything instead of simply getting out there and having fun, knowing that I belonged here. I’m valuable and capable of playing at a high level. That was something I needed to rebuild… It’s entirely different now. “My confidence has skyrocketed.”
All signs are beginning to point to an all-out camp battle in the making for the role of WR3, a seat vacated by the release of Michael Gallup this offseason— now up for grabs for a frontrunner like Jalen Tolbert.
The second session of OTAs saw Tolbert taking reps with Dak Prescott and the first team, and veteran wideout Brandin Cooks has been invaluable to the development of the former third-round pick since the latter arrived in Dallas via trade a year ago.
When asked about his outlook for Tolbert in 2024, Cooks gave a shining preview of what he believes might be a breakout season for third-year talent.
“He’s ready to go,” said Cooks. “Whatever the expectations are for him out there [in 2024], I’m telling you he’s gonna crush it. He’s ready. I look forward to him being able to get that opportunity. It’s the way that he goes to work. … And I think that time is now for him.”
While the Cowboys are still in the voluntary stages of their offseason program, which includes this week’s OTAs, it is expected that pass-rusher Micah Parsons will join the club as early as next week. Parsons did not participate in the offseason conditioning program or the first two weeks of OTAs, but that should change next week, according to head coach Mike McCarthy.
“Yes, I believe we will have him here sometime next week,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “Micah is in town, and he has been in and out. He has had some remarkable travel opportunities. He was here on Friday. He looks wonderful and is in excellent shape. I am aware of what he has been doing and where he has been doing it. McCarthy stated that Parsons is not behind in terms of studying Mike Zimmer’s defense. “He’s getting ready physically,” McCarthy added. “He has been doing one-on-one sessions inside the framework of our operation. He has not missed anything during the installation.”
As expected, Trey Lance is going to get a lot of work this offseason, particularly in the preseason.
That makes sense, considering Dak Prescott hasn’t played a preseason snap since 2019 and Lance is on the last year of his contract and the Cowboys need to see a better evaluation of him.
But McCarthy spoke about that on Wednesday, adding the things he’s liking from Lance so far this offseason. Lance has played four games with the 49ers but hasn’t received any live action with the Cowboys since he arrived at the end of the preseason in 2023.
“There’s threshold for every position. He had a prior experience in San Francisco. That’s obviously an experience he’ll always be able to draw from,” McCarthy said of Lance. “I’ve been very very pleased. The athletic ability is top-notch. We’ve adjusted some things in his motion. You can see the improvement and timing. Like any young quarterback, he’s no different, he needs a reps. He will take a large part of the preseason. That’s the design.”
Michael Gallup and the Dallas Cowboys parted ways this spring, leaving the door wide open for someone to come up and fill the WR3 slot behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks. Jalen Tolbert, a former third-round pick out of South Alabama, could be seen as the rightful favorite in that competition, particularly given his progress in 2023. Jalen Brooks, another young horse in the stable, is ready to race.
Mike Zimmer’s toughness and matter-of-fact teaching approach have been well praised, and he will return for a second tenure as Dallas Cowboys defense coordinator this season. What should not be overlooked in the discussion is how much the Super Bowl-winning coordinator despises in-game blunders on a rep-by-rep level.
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