The Cowboys acquired Tavon Austin from the Rams, and after the trade, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said, "I don't want to speak for Jason (Garrett), but I think we can get him the ball a dozen to two dozen times per game." He probably shouldn't have spoken for Garrett.
When Austin was a first-round pick coming out of the draft, maybe that kind of plan looked like something a team might do with a hybrid receiver/running back drafted so early. But Austin has been in the league for five years now, including last year with Sean McVay's high-powered offense, and it seems pretty safe to say he's not in any way going to be a difference maker at the NFL level. If McVay couldn't get any offensive impact out of him, how is it supposed to happen in Dallas?
Last year Austin carried the ball 59 times, a high (by far) for wide receivers. He caught 13 passes. In neither area did he set the world afire; do anything with the ball in his hands that suggests he'll merit heavy usage in Dallas.
| WIDE RECEIVER RUSHING, 2017 (3-PLUS ATTEMPTS) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | Long | TD |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 4 | 64 | 16.0 | 31 | 0 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 3 | 38 | 12.7 | 23 | 0 |
| JJ Nelson, Ariz. | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 16 | 0 |
| Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 4 | 44 | 11.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Oak. | 13 | 121 | 9.3 | 45t | 2 |
| Kaelin Clay, 2 tm | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 29 | 0 |
| Michael Campanaro, Balt. | 5 | 42 | 8.4 | 19 | 0 |
| Travis Benjamin, LAC | 13 | 96 | 7.4 | 22 | 0 |
| Taylor Gabriel, Atl. | 8 | 49 | 6.1 | 15 | 0 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 10 | 58 | 5.8 | 22 | 0 |
| Chris Hogan, N.E. | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 13 | 0 |
| Bruce Ellington, Hou. | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 13 | 0 |
| Bernard Reedy, 2 tm | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 10 | 0 |
| Taywan Taylor, Tenn. | 8 | 43 | 5.4 | 17 | 0 |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 7 | 34 | 4.9 | 11 | 0 |
| Tavon Austin, LAR | 59 | 270 | 4.6 | 27t | 1 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 9 | 40 | 4.4 | 13 | 0 |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 10 | 0 |
| Jakeem Grant, Mia. | 3 | 12 | 4.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Ted Ginn, N.O. | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 15 | 0 |
| ArDarius Stewart, NYJ | 7 | 27 | 3.9 | 11 | 0 |
| Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 6 | 22 | 3.7 | 13 | 0 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 17 | 59 | 3.5 | 16 | 0 |
| Alex Erickson, Cin. | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 14 | 0 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Chester Rogers, Ind. | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 7 | 0 |
| Jesus Wilson, T.B. | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 8 | 0 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | 4 | 0 |
| Albert Wilson, K.C. | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 9 | 17 | 1.9 | 10 | 0 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 8 | 13 | 1.6 | 9 | 0 |
| Ryan Switzer, Dall. | 4 | 5 | 1.3 | 3 | 0 |
So Austin was pretty ordinary as far as rushing among wide receivers. As for his receptions, he averaged just 3.6 yards per catch on those. I cropped the table at receivers who caught 40 passes to get a more manageable table, then stuck Austin where he'd have finished had he caught that many balls. Yes, it was at the bottom.
| WIDE RECEIVER RECEIVING, 2017 (40-PLUS CATCHES) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Rec | Avg | TD |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 61 | 1101 | 18.0 | 9 |
| Keelan Cole, Jac. | 42 | 748 | 17.8 | 3 |
| Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 56 | 962 | 17.2 | 2 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 57 | 966 | 16.9 | 4 |
| Tyrell Williams, LAC | 43 | 728 | 16.9 | 4 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 65 | 1082 | 16.6 | 7 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 88 | 1444 | 16.4 | 3 |
| Paul Richardson, Sea. | 44 | 703 | 16.0 | 6 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 58 | 917 | 15.8 | 8 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 75 | 1183 | 15.8 | 8 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 101 | 1533 | 15.2 | 9 |
| Rishard Matthews, Tenn. | 53 | 795 | 15.0 | 4 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 63 | 941 | 14.9 | 7 |
| Ted Ginn Jr., N.O. | 53 | 787 | 14.8 | 4 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 58 | 847 | 14.6 | 6 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 96 | 1378 | 14.4 | 13 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 75 | 1078 | 14.4 | 8 |
| Kelvin Benjamin, 2 tm | 48 | 692 | 14.4 | 3 |
| Mike Wallace, Balt. | 52 | 748 | 14.4 | 4 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 48 | 680 | 14.2 | 7 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 71 | 1001 | 14.1 | 5 |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 91 | 1276 | 14.0 | 4 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 62 | 869 | 14.0 | 5 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 56 | 781 | 13.9 | 5 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 57 | 789 | 13.8 | 9 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 50 | 668 | 13.4 | 3 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 63 | 840 | 13.3 | 8 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 64 | 849 | 13.3 | 8 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 75 | 991 | 13.2 | 8 |
| Albert Wilson, K.C. | 42 | 554 | 13.2 | 3 |
| Ryan Grant, Wash. | 45 | 573 | 12.7 | 4 |
| Marqise Lee, Jac. | 56 | 702 | 12.5 | 3 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 65 | 810 | 12.5 | 5 |
| Pierre Garcon, S.F. | 40 | 500 | 12.5 | 0 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 59 | 731 | 12.4 | 2 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 62 | 768 | 12.4 | 9 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 45 | 555 | 12.3 | 3 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 69 | 838 | 12.1 | 6 |
| Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 50 | 603 | 12.1 | 3 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 74 | 885 | 12.0 | 10 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 104 | 1245 | 12.0 | 5 |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 66 | 789 | 12.0 | 3 |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 57 | 670 | 11.8 | 1 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 47 | 555 | 11.8 | 2 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 83 | 949 | 11.4 | 5 |
| Jeremy Maclin, Balt. | 40 | 440 | 11.0 | 3 |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 92 | 1003 | 10.9 | 5 |
| Danny Amendola, N.E. | 61 | 659 | 10.8 | 2 |
| Terrance Williams, Dall. | 53 | 568 | 10.7 | 0 |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 58 | 618 | 10.7 | 8 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 109 | 1156 | 10.6 | 6 |
| Seth Roberts, Oak. | 43 | 455 | 10.6 | 1 |
| Brandon LaFell, Cin. | 52 | 548 | 10.5 | 3 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 67 | 703 | 10.5 | 5 |
| Kendall Wright, Chi. | 59 | 614 | 10.4 | 1 |
| Eric Decker, Tenn. | 54 | 563 | 10.4 | 1 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 61 | 631 | 10.3 | 1 |
| Trent Taylor, S.F. | 43 | 430 | 10.0 | 2 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 66 | 653 | 9.9 | 4 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 53 | 482 | 9.1 | 6 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 987 | 8.8 | 9 |
| Tavon Austin, LAR | 13 | 47 | 3.6 | 1 |
The Cowboys are kind of receiver-poor. But I'm going to say Austin's chances of not making the team at all are comparable to him getting a dozen or two dozen touches per game. Probably a little better that he'll be cut.
--Andy Richardson