Physical SMU wideout Jordan Hudson battles a crowded depth chart to prove he belongs in Dallas, offering reliable hands and contested-catch skills as a high-upside developmental sleeper.
CeeDee Lamb.
George Pickens.
And a rookie USDA receiver from SMU?!
The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver room has a clear pecking order as we turn toward OTA workouts this week inside The Star.
Lamb and Pickens are the top weapons for QB Dak Prescott. But as we know, the depth chart runs deeper than those three.
For this exercise, I'm putting KaVontae Turpin back on punt return duty full-time; the receiver experiment is over.
So Ryan Flournoy can be penciled in as the No. 3 guy. And also vying for work? The Cowboys have Jonathan Mingo, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Traeshon Holden, Tyler Johnson, Anthony Smith, Camden Brown ... and Jordan Hudson.
They will be fighting for snaps as the offseason rolls on, and if we are being truthful, MVS, Mingo, and Holden are likely to get the most reps.
But what about someone like Jordan Hudson? The UDFA comes to Dallas looking to make a name for himself, and Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport has named Hudson as the one UDFA to watch for the Cowboys this offseason.
"Despite a lack of elite size or speed, Hudson is a physical wideout who holds his own in contested-catch situations," Davenport wrote. "He also possesses plus hands. But like so many wide receivers entering the NFL, he needs to improve his route tree, and he can struggle to separate due to a lack of explosiveness and high-end speed.
"Hudson is going to be something of a project, but there are tools to work with."
Given that Mingo and Holden are the two who are seen as the ones who should be taking the next step in their development, it is going to be tough for Hudson to truly show out for the coaching staff. ... and it would be a "sleeper surprise'' for him to make the roster.
Although Holden was a UDFA last season, he had a good training camp and even showed promise in the preseason games before ending up on the practice squad.
Hudson (6-1, 195) had the best season of his college career last year with SMU, totaling 766 yards and 6 TDs from 61 receptions, and is seen by many draft experts as a typical WR4 or WR5 due to his ability to pick up yards after the catch.
Given the long list of receivers ahead of him, it looms as a tall order for Hudson to truly make an impact that is needed to move up the depth chart, but you never know how things will play out over the duration of an offseason.
There are plenty of players to watch as workouts begin, and Hudson might be one of them.
