Mike McCarthy discusses rookie WR Jalen Tolbert's potential role on special teams

Mike McCarthy is excited for rookie wide receiver Jalen Tolbert to contribute on offense, but the former South Alabama star could play a pivotal role on special teams, as well.

According to McCarthy, the third round selection from the 2022 NFL Draft is making some waves in the return game.

“I think he’s done a nice job with the limited reps he’s had,” McCarthy said, via Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News. “Missed portion of OTAs with hamstring strain. “He seems pretty natural back there.”

Of course, the Cowboys will be looking for Tolbert to provide a boost on offense, but an uptick to their return game wouldn’t hurt. Additionally, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is already impressed with the aforementioned Tolbert.

Prescott had some high praise for Tolbert, who will join a wide receiver room that already includes CeeDee Lamb, who emerged as a top target for Prescott the last couple seasons. He’ll also try to help with the loss of Amari Cooper, who was traded to the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason.

Apparently, Tolbert is making an early impression on his new quarterback, who spoke glowingly of him last week.

“He’s a smart guy,” Prescott said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “He wants to grow. He’s always talking to me about film and what I saw. He’s an exciting guy that has a bright future.”

As you can see, Jalen Tolbert is making an instant impact on his teammates. A bright future in Dallas seems to be on the horizon for the former South Alabama star.

Mike McCarthy compares Jalen Tolbert to CeeDee Lamb, Cedrick Wilson

The Dallas Cowboys used the No. 88 pick of the 2022 NFL Draft on wide receiver Jalen Tolbert out of South Alabama. Following rookie mini camp last month, head coach Mike McCarthy is feeling good about their third-round selection.

“In just the short time that I’ve been around Jalen, I think he’s going to do fine,” McCarthy said. “He’s young, and frankly, one of the things he made a big point of in our initial conversations was how young he is and he hasn’t played a lot of football.

“To me, that’s exciting. He said, ‘I don’t know how high my ceiling is but I think it’s going to be pretty damn high,’” I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’” You can see it. He’s natural inside… He reminds you, just on first impression, in terms of his movement traits, he’s somewhere kind of between CeeDee (Lamb) and Cedrick Wilson. That illustrates what we’re looking for. When you have that type of skillset when you can come in here and play inside and outside, that’s a real value.”