DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys have been courting a veteran wide receiver for what feels like months now, and they finally signed one. What we didn’t know was that it wasn’t the receiver most expected, instead it was T.Y. Hilton, who played 10 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts.
Hilton was a name mentioned over the summer as someone that the Cowboys might be interested in, but that chatter eventually died down with the team doing more public due diligence on another former Pro Bowl veteran wide receiver. With Hilton now signed, the Cowboys must feel better about their receiver room.
Adding Hilton doesn’t shut the door on bringing in Odell Beckham Jr., but it makes the team less desperate to sign him to contribute this season. Unlike Beckham, Hilton is healthy enough to play right away and can help the Cowboys now.
Hilton has five 1,000-yard seasons to his name and led the NFL in receiving yards during the 2016 season with 1,448. Injuries have limited Hilton’s effectiveness and availability in the last few seasons and he hasn’t played a full year since 2017. Last year, while with the Colts, Hilton played in 10 games where he caught 23 passes for 331 and three touchdowns.
While those are pedestrian numbers, Hilton did average 14.4 yards per catch, which would be top among Cowboys receivers this season. Over the course of his career, Hilton has been someone who can stretch the field with his speed with six seasons where he averaged 15-plus yards per reception.
It’s unlikely that Hilton has the same type of game-breaking speed to take the top off a defense anymore, but he does have an ability to get in and out of breaks quickly to get open. The veteran wide receiver is a savvy route runner who will find the soft spots in zone coverages, something the offense desperately needs.
The Cowboys have done well this season with their receivers, but help was needed. They lacked depth and waited for wide receiver Michael Gallup to be healthy, which eventually gave them three good options in the passing game.
CeeDee Lamb has taken the step to be their No. 1 receiver this season and Noah Brown has done an admirable job as the next man up. Brown has shattered his career-highs in catches and yards to become a threat as a receiver in his sixth year but it was clear that Dallas sought someone to draw defenders away from Lamb.
Gallup can be that player but he has come along slowly in his return from the ACL tear that ended his 2021 season in Week 17 last year. Nevertheless, Gallup is still fourth in catches and yards, while tied for second in touchdowns. It’s been a process, but he has been contributing and getting better as the season progresses.
Hilton’s inclusion makes for a deeper wide receiver unit that didn’t have another reliable option. Third round pick Jalen Tolbert has just two catches and hasn’t looked NFL ready. There are no such issues with Hilton.
The Cowboys offense needed an influx of talent, and Dallas got that with Hilton, a four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who has been lauded for his time in Indianapolis by the likes of Andrew Luck and Philip Rivers.
The Cowboys expressed a need to add a veteran receiver who could come in and contribute down the stretch and it was Hilton that came in under the radar. It seemed essential to get someone who was ready to play immediately, instead of waiting until the playoffs.
Quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense got an early Christmas present with an upgrade for the last month of the season and into the postseason.
Do you think Hilton will make an impact for the Cowboys down the stretch? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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