Cowboys’ Sam Williams & Jalen Tolbert Prediction: 'Second-Year Leap'

Sam Williams and Jalen Tolbert had vastly different rookie seasons, but now with OTA's finishing up, the pair have taken significant strides in their development.

Dallas Cowboys youngsters Sam Williams, and Jalen Tolbert had contrasting rookie seasons. Williams showed glimpses of his edge-rushing talent and was a valuable member of coordinator Dan Quinn's unit.

For former third-round pick Tolbert, however, he was barely sighted as the first year as an NFL player saw a lot of growing pains, and when he did manage snaps, it was rather underwhelming ... and he knew it too.

But now, as Dallas' OTA's finish up with minicamp on the horizon, both Williams and Tolbert are making significant strides in their development ... and head coach Mike McCarthy has taken notice.

"Two excellent examples, Jalen and Sam," McCarthy said of the general plan of second-year improvement in players. "Sam really came on for us. The more opportunities he was given his rookie year, the more productive he was. You can see the comfort in what we're asking him to do. … I've been impressed with so far for the first three installs. 

"Jalen,” McCarthy continued, “has made some really nice plays, particularly in the seven-on-seven and two-minute situation. So, I think both of those guys are definitely making that jump."

However, making that "second-year leap" will look different for both players.

Williams played 15 games in his rookie season and totaled four sacks, 10 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, three recovered fumbles, and nine quarterback hits. That'll work.

For Tolbert, he could only manage eight games and caught two passes for 12 yards, so his scope for improvement is bigger than Williams'.

Tolbert looks to be a more confident version of himself and more decisive in his routes thus far in OTA's and looks like a decent bet to stake his claim for the WR4 spot on the roster.

Of course, these routes are run largely against air, so they can be taken with a grain of salt, but Cowboys fans would rather see any kind of improvement than not.

Do Williams and Tolbert come into the 2023 season with vastly different expectations? Maybe. Still, if the pair can hit those marks set by the coaching staff inside The Star, then the Cowboys could have two players ready to make consistent plays for their respective units this season.

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