Earning a roster spot in the NFL isn’t easy, and keeping that roster spot is even harder.
Year in and year out, players are fighting for their NFL lives and they all know that their job security is teetering, knowing that the slightest tip of the scale can end their professional careers. Rookies are just hoping to begin their careers, while some veterans are coming to the end of theirs.
For those players that enter the league as undrafted free agents, this is especially true. They have to fight harder than anybody to prove themselves and hope they get a chance to catch the attention of the coaches.
Well, that is exactly what Lucky Whitehead had to do after he went undrafted in 2015.
The hope was that Whitehead could step in and fill the void left by Dwayne Harris’ departure to the division rival New York Giants.
It hasn’t been that long ago, but in case you’ve forgotten Harris was one of the better special teams players for the Cowboys, both as a return man and on coverage units. He never really earned a definitive role as a receiver, but seemed to make plays when it mattered most.
Now, earning the trust of the coaching staff is sometimes difficult for rookies to do and it looks as if that is exactly what happened in Whitehead’s case in 2015. The coaching staff was reluctant to use them regularly in the return game until later in the season, but the fact that they did start using him more should provide a little bit of evidence of what kind of an expanded role he can have in his second year.
If you take a good hard look at his statistics from 2015 you can kind of determine for yourself the way he may be used in the upcoming season.
| Rec./Att. | Yards | |
| Receiving | 6 | 16 |
| Rushing | 10 | 107 |
Were you aware that Whitehead had more rushing attempts then receptions? I wasn’t until I looked at the statistics.
Okay, are you ready for my bold prediction and the expanded role I think the Cowboys might have for Whitehead in 2016?
Like I mentioned earlier, the hope was that Whitehead would come in and fill the void of Harris’ departure, but I think he will actually fill the void of often injured Lance Dunbar.
I know a lot of fans hope that Dunbar can fully recover and immediately pick up where he left off last year, but it might just be too late.
Dunbar always seems to get injured when he’s finally starting to prove that he can be a difference maker on offense, but it’s those injuries that might just force Cowboys to go a different direction if someone can prove they can step up.
I know what you’re probably thinking, Dunbar is a running back and Whitehead is a wide receiver, so how could a WR take over for a RB?
Well, Dunbar mostly made his impact as a receiver out of the backfield and I think that’s how the Cowboys would choose to use Whitehead, but he could possibly be used on gimmicky plays as well.
Dunbar (5’9″, 195) and Whitehead (5’8″, 183) are roughly about the same size, and both players can be explosive with the ball their hands. They work best in space and that is how they can both hurt opposing defenses.
Whitehead played the majority of the 2015 season somewhere between 170 and 175 pounds, but has put in the work this off-season to add muscle to his frame.
https://twitter.com/ninjafast22/status/730083898844057600
I really think that his hard work might just pay off for him in 2016 and that he can prove to the coaching staff that he is worthy of an expanded role. Maybe that hard work will keep him off of the injury report and he can remain healthy and available for all 16 games.
If I was Lance Dunbar I think I would be doing everything in my power to make sure that I am ready as soon as possible, because he knows that no one’s job is set in stone when it comes to the NFL.
So, do you think Lucky Whitehead deserves an expanded role in 2016? Do you think he could be a possible replacement for the often injured Dunbar?
Use the comment section below so that we can further discuss this topic.
