Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Makes progress in second season
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Tolbert caught 22 of 36 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns over 17 regular-season games in 2023.
After a rough rookie campaign that saw the 2022 third-round pick get into the active lineup for only eight games, Tolbert was noticeably more reliable in 2023, and in the second half he was essentially splitting the No. 3 receiver role with Michael Gallup. There's a chance both Gallup and Brandin Cooks could be in different uniforms next season, which could position Tolbert to be the Cowboys' No. 2 wideout behind CeeDee Lamb, but it's more likely he heads into 2024 in roughly the same spot on the depth chart he occupies now.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Grabs TD against Washington
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Tolbert caught two of three targets for eight yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 38-10 romp over the Commanders.
The second-year wideout connected with Dak Prescott on a three-yard TD to open the scoring in the first quarter. Tolbert saw a limited role in the offense during the regular season, essentially splitting the No. 3 role with Michael Gallup behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, but he showed significant improvement from his disappointing rookie campaign and caught 22 of 36 targets for 268 yards and two touchdowns over 17 games. Tolbert will look to make a postseason splash when the Cowboys face the Packers in the wild-card round Sunday.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Questionable for Week 15
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Tolbert (illness) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Bills, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Tolbert missed practice Thursday but got in a limited session Friday. He's carved out a part-time offensive role behind starters CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks and has 17 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown on the season. If Tolbert is unable to play Sunday, Michael Gallup, Jalen Brooks and KaVontae Turpin would be next in line for snaps.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Two grabs against Washington
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Tolbert caught two of three targets for 49 yards in a 45-10 rout of the Commanders on Thanksgiving.
He was one of 10 different Cowboys to catch passes from Dak Prescott on the afternoon, with Tolbert posting gains of 31 and 18 yards on his two grabs. The second-year wideout still doesn't have a big role in the offense, but he's pushing Michael Gallup for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart and has caught at least two passes in four straight games, posting a 9-112-1 line on 18 targets over that stretch compared to Gallup's 8-133-1 performance on 11 targets.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Quiet day in rout
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Tolbert caught two of five targets for two yards in Sunday's 49-17 rout of the Giants.
While rookie Jalen Brooks got a chance to shine in garbage time, catching all four of his targets for 39 yards, Tolbert had far less success and actually lost yards on one of his two grabs. The 2022 third-round pick has at least begun to see consistent volume, getting five targets in each of the last two games as the Dallas passing game opens up, but as long as CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks are healthy, Tolbert has a tough path to consistent fantasy value.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Likely to step in as No. 3 wideout
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Tolbert is expected to serve as Dallas' No. 3 receiver in Sunday's game against the Jets with Brandin Cooks (knee) listed as questionable but not in line to play, Joseph Hoyt of LoneStarLive.com reports.
After playing 16 snaps on offense and drawing one target in the Cowboys' 40-0 win over the Giants in the season opener, Tolbert is projected to see an expanded role Week 2 while Dallas is without one of its top three wideouts in Cooks. CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup are still available for the Cowboys, and tight end Jake Ferguson and running back Tony Pollard are also expected to retain key roles in the passing game, so Tolbert still might not find himself any higher than fifth in the pecking order for targets from quarterback Dak Prescott.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Solid start to camp
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Tolbert worked with the first-team offense Wednesday during the first day of training camp, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
The South Alabama product is trying to put a rough rookie season behind him, and he looked good to begin camp while making a number of nice catches. Tolbert is hoping to establish himself as the Cowboys' No. 4 wideout this season, but even in a potent passing game his fantasy value in that role figures to be limited as long as CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup are all healthy.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Looking more comfortable in Year 2
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Tolbert has made several impressive plays in OTAs, including during the two-minute drill, Patrik Walker of the Cowboys' website reports.
The 2022 third-round pick out of South Alabama did little as a rookie, seeing action in only eight games and catching two of three targets for 12 yards, and his small-school background seemed to leave him ill-prepared for the complexities of an NFL offense. Tolbert did flash impressive athleticism in college though, and his good early showing in OTAs suggests he has a better handle on the playbook and is no longer lost on the field. He has a tough climb to become fantasy-relevant, however, and he'll head into mandatory minicamp battling Simi Fehoko for the No. 4 spot on the Dallas depth chart at wide receiver.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Inactive for wild-card matchup
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Tolbert (coach's decision) is inactive for Monday's wild-card matchup against the Buccaneers, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Tolbert was a healthy scratch for the final five games of the regular season and will be inactive once again to start the postseason. Dallas' wideout corps Monday night will consist of CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Noah Brown, T.Y. Hilton and KaVontae Turpin.
Tolbert could serve as the Cowboys' No. 3 receiver in Sunday's game against the Bears with Noah Brown (foot) inactive for the contest, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
Heading into training camp, Tolbert looked like a leading candidate to open the season as the Cowboys' No. 2 wideout behind CeeDee Lamb, but a poor preseason resulted in him being a healthy scratch Week 1. Tolbert's outlook hasn't changed much for the better since that time, as he was inactive in four of the Cowboys' first seven games and fell further down the pecking order at receiver when Michael Gallup returned from a torn ACL in Week 4. Lamb and Gallup are both suiting up Sunday, but the absence of Brown creates an opportunity for Tolbert to see meaningful playing time on offense for the first time since Week 3, when he logged 23 snaps. With Brown out and James Washington (foot) on injured reserve, the Cowboys aren't left with much depth at the position beyond Tolbert, as the lone other active wideout Sunday is 5-foot-9, 153-pound return man KaVontae Turpin, who profiles as more of a gadget player on offense than a true receiver.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Takes seat again in Week 2
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Tolbert (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's contest against the Bengals, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
For a second consecutive game to begin his career, the rookie third-round pick won't be available to a Cowboys offense that's without fellow pass catchers Michael Gallup (knee, inactive) and James Washington (foot, IR). The decision to delay Tolbert's pro debut is an interesting one, especially with Dak Prescott (thumb) sidelined for the foreseeable future. In any case, interim starting quarterback Cooper Rush will have CeeDee Lamb, Noah Brown, Dennis Houston, Simi Fehoko and KaVontae Turpin available at wide receiver Week 2.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Pair of grabs in win
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Tolbert brought in two of four targets for 25 yards in the Cowboys' 32-18 preseason win over the Chargers on Saturday night.
The rookie drew the start and turned in a solid effort overall while working with Cooper Rush as his quarterback. Tolbert's numbers were an improvement on the 2-7-0 line he furnished in the preseason opener against the Broncos last Saturday night, and he remains slated for a starting role to open the regular season with Michael Gallup (knee) and James Washington (foot) projected to be unavailable.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Showing growth in practice
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Tolbert was more consistent this week during joint practices with the Chargers after a rough performance in the Cowboys' preseason opener, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.
The rookie receiver caught only two of his seven targets and got flagged for a false start against the Broncos last Saturday, but Tolbert appears to have put it behind him. "I'm learning more and more about each [wide receiver] position as I go," he said after Thursday's practice. "And so, me just being able to move around and understand more - in the game Saturday, it was kind of flying around on me. Overall, I'm picking it up. I'm good. Now, I'm just working on being consistent. My main goal was to come out here, be consistent and compete hard, and I think I did a very good job of that." With Michael Gallup (knee) and James Washington (foot) both set to miss the beginning of the regular season, there will be a lot of pressure on Tolbert to handle a big role from the jump despite being a third-round pick from a smaller conference. If he continues to show progress and can maybe add better preseason numbers to his resume before Week 1, his status as a fantasy sleeper will be a lot more secure.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Two grabs in preseason opener
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Tolbert brought in two of seven targets for 10 yards in the Cowboys' 17-7 preseason loss to the Broncos on Saturday night.
Tolbert was the target on Cooper Rush's first two pass attempts, neither of which was caught. The rookie did draw a pass interference penalty on the first play of the Cowboys' third drive and subsequently got on the board with a pair of receptions, making it a busy yet modest night for the third-round pick. Tolbert's next opportunity to ramp up for what should be a solid role right from the start of his career comes in a road battle against the Chargers next Saturday night.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Could be Week 1 starter
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Tolbert participated in workouts with Dak Prescott and other key members of the Cowboys offense earlier this month, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
Top tight end Dalton Schultz was part of the group, as were CeeDee Lamb and Ezekiel Elliott. Tolbert also saw reps with the first-team offense at the end of minicamp, and with Michael Gallup not expected to be healthy for the beginning of the season, the third-round rookie could find himself in the starting lineup in Week 1, lining up either opposite Lamb on the outside or working out of the slot. An impressive performance in training camp would help solidify Tolbert's spot and convince the Cowboys they don't need to bring in additional veteran depth at wide receiver.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: Back at practice Tuesday
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Tolbert (hamstring) got significant reps during Tuesday's mandatory minicamp, David Helman of the Cowboys' official site reports.
The rookie wideout had been nursing a hamstring injury during OTAs, but he appears to have moved past the issue and looks poised to carve out a role in Dallas. With Michael Gallup (knee) potentially unavailable for Week 1, Tolbert will compete with fellow newcomer James Washington (foot) for snaps and targets behind No. 1 wideout CeeDee Lamb.
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Cowboys' Jalen Tolbert: New weapon for Prescott
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The Cowboys selected Tolbert in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 88th overall.
Tolbert (6-foot-1, 194 pounds) lacks overall size, but his athleticism is just above average (4.49-second 40-yard dash) and his production in college was compelling. Tolbert's senior year for South Alabama was particularly memorable, as he recorded 82 receptions for 1,474 yards and eight touchdowns on 136 targets. He heads to Dallas as its likely fourth wide receiver behind CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and free-agent signee James Washington, but Gallup's return from an ACL tear and Washington's less-than-convincing NFL production leave open the the slight possibility of an immediate impact from Tolbert.
