The Dallas Cowboys are in a rut. They made Dak Prescott the highest-paid NFL player last offseason but finished 2024 7-10 after he went out with a Week 9 hamstring injury.
Dallas holds the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and one former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst thinks they need to be aggressive and add to Prescott’s arsenal to make his contract worth it.
Analyst Wants Cowboys To Add Complementary WR
Prescott had gotten off to a slow start before going down last season. Dallas was 3-4 heading into Week 9, with Prescott posting 1,845 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions to that point. Before getting injured, he added 133 yards and another score, but the Cowboys lost 27-21 to the Atlanta Falcons.
The offense wasn’t in sync before Prescott was lost, and they couldn’t figure things out with Cooper Rush took over. Dallas’ best offensive player, CeeDee Lamb, regressed without the starting quarterback, posting 101 receptions, 1,194 yards, and six touchdowns last season.
A big issue for Dallas is that they didn’t have a solid second receiving option to complement Lamb. Jalen Tolbert led the team with seven touchdowns, but was the second-leading receiver with just 610 yards.
Last year, Dallas’ poor rushing attack could have absorbed it if another receiver stepped up, but that didn’t happen. The Cowboys finished No. 23 in PFSN’s Offense+ metric and had two forgettable performances to end the season.
So, what should the Cowboys do with the 12th pick? Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky wants them to add another weapon to Prescott’s arsenal, particularly one that complements Lamb. He took to X to point out that the quarterback had an even TD-INT ratio throwing to his No. 1 receiver.
Orlovsky tweeted, “The @dallascowboys have to be aggressive at WR in draft.. Dak’s TD-INT targeting Lamb last season was 4-4. No point in having a 1 if you have to force it. Vikings drafted Addison for that very reason. @PaulHembo”
The @dallascowboys have to be aggressive at WR in draft..
Dak’s TD-INT targeting Lamb last season was 4-4. No point in having a 1 if you have to force it. Vikings drafted Addison for that very reason. @PaulHembo
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) April 21, 2025
He mentioned how the Minnesota Vikings added Jordan Addison in the 2023 NFL Draft to complement Justin Jefferson. In their first full season together, Jefferson posted 103 receptions, 1,533 yards, and 10 touchdowns. That’s what Orlovsky wants the Cowboys to add with the 12th pick, and a recent report suggests Lamb wants it as well.
RG’s D.J. Siddiqi conducted a recent interview with Lamb where the receiver named multiple receivers he likes in this year’s draft class.
“I like a lot of them, actually. There’s a bunch of pieces that stood out. I like T-Mac [Tetairoa McMillan] from Arizona for one. I like Luther [Burden III] from Missouri. The list could go on. I like Emeka [Egbuka] from Ohio State and Tez Johnson [from Oregon].”
Later in the interview, Lamb mentioned that he’s “just looking for a great complement” and doesn’t want a rookie to look exactly like him. He realizes that a receiver being better in some areas would let both excel at what they do best.
PFSN’s Jacob Infante has granted Lamb his wish in his latest mock draft. Infante predicts the Cowboys will select Arizona’s McMillan with the 12th pick. If Dallas can secure any of the top receivers in this year’s class, they may get the offense turned around.