Yesterday Dallas released defensive back Terrance Mitchell, a former seventh-round pick in their 2014 class. He joins Ben Gardner, Ahmad Dixon, Ken Bishop, and Will Smith as players who did not last long with the Cowboys.
Is wide receiver Devin Street about to join them?
A fifth-round pick from that year, Street has yet get much traction in Dallas. In two seasons he has nine catches for 132 yards and one touchdown. He has been active for all but one game but has not been able to find a role in the offense.
Perhaps the biggest indictment of Street came last year when Dallas opted to trade for Brice Butler. It seemed that Butler immediately leapfrogged Street on the depth chart and is now in discussions about challenging Terrance Williams for a starting role. Despite having a mid-round pick entering his second year, Dallas felt more comfortable acquiring and givings those reps to Butler.
Not only did Butler push him down the chart but Street also faces threats from below. Lucky Whitehead should make the team as a return specialist and has been working to increase his offensive role. There is also a pack of young prospects in Chris Brown, Ed Eagan, Vince Mayle, and a few others who could challenge for a job.
Street certainly has some tools. He’s close to 6’3″ and has solid athleticism for his size, but part of that comes from being slender and not very physical. Street has not shown the same good hands so far in the NFL that he was known for in college, dropping some balls on his rare opportunities. He can’t afford to squander any chances he gets.
If Whitehead pushes his way into the offense then it may not matter what Street does. Dallas would already have five active receivers at that point and receiving options in the backfield with Ezekiel Elliott, Darren McFadden, or Lance Dunbar. They may also be trying to keep four tight ends to protect Rico Gathers from the waiver wire.
If the Cowboys keep a sixth receiver it will likely be a younger prospect. Street is already 25 and hasn’t shown much development in two years. He has to make a major push now to even have a chance, and perhaps needs an injury to occur for it to even matter.
More likely than not, Street is about to become another goner from the 2014 class. That will leave just Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Anthony Hitchens remaining.
Fifth-round picks aren’t supposed to always work out. In the last few years before Street we’e had Joseph Randle, Danny Coale. and Josh Thomas. Of those three, Thomas is still around but only after being cut by Dallas as a rookie and spending his first five years elsewhere. Coale is already out of the NFL and Randle is probably running naked through a grocery store somewhere.
There’s always room for things to change, but right now it appears Street will join both the many early exits from the 2014 class and the list of fifth-round disappointments.
