If there's one thing that Drew Pearson knows about, it's Cowboys wide receivers. As one of the greatest wideouts in franchise history, Pearson is uniquely qualified to dish on the subject (the team's top wideout gets his No. 88 after all). He's also a big "The Young and the Restless" fan as well, and you can read more about that here, or listen to the interview below OR just go ahead and subscribe to the Pick Six Podcast to get your daily dose of NFL news, notes and interesting interviews (Subscribe: via iTunes | via Stitcher | via TuneIn | via Google Play).
What interested me from the back end of the interview with Pearson was a discussion of the shifting offensive personnel in Dallas. Out are Jason Witten and Dez Bryant, which is tough for Dak Prescott, but maybe more so from a locker room perspective (and losing Witten) according to Pearson.
"Especially with Jason Witten as far as that locker room presence. He's a professional, he's the captain, he's the one who sets that precedent for the young guys to follow," Pearson explained. "The work ethic, the preparation for studying film and doing what you've got to do on the field and working out and all that. That's Jason Witten, he's the epitome of all that. Dez worked hard too, but he was not the best locker room guy, and I think that was a big reason why he was let go. Certainly his production had dropped off in the last few years, but it's that locker room presence that turned out to be a negative for the football team in the eyes of the Cowboys brass."
And there's a lot of new blood, with one guy -- Cedrick Wilson out of Boise State -- standing out to Pearson.
"I think it's good. I think they need to shake up that receiver corps, because none of them performed well last season," Pearson said. "They all performed below par. So with some new blood, it might motivate some of the guys that were there last year that are still on the team this year -- like a Terrance Williams, if he can beat this latest rap on him. But I like the new corps of receivers, Michael Gallup out of Colorado State, I think he can make an impact. Allen Hurns is pretty much the same as Dez Bryant. He didn't have the initial part of his career like Dez, Dez was a beast, but the injuries caught up to him to slow him down. I think Allen Hurns can step in and do that job.
"The guy you might want to watch is the guy they got out of Boise State, Wilson, this guy Cedrick Wilson. I heard coming out of the rookie minicamp that he was one of the guys who stood out and showed a lot of ability to take his game from the next level, college to the NFL."
Here's the reality: someone has to catch some passes in Dallas. Hurns is the No. 1 but there could be some rookies stepping in and producing in a big way. Gallup is the guy who will get buzz, but don't sleep on Wilson if you're buying into what Pearson is selling.
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