The Dallas Cowboys selected Ryan Switzer in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, and that came as a surprise to many given the team's lack of need at the wide receiver position.
However, while Switzer will certainly add depth and be a great option as a slot receiver for Dak Prescott, his biggest asset will be as a return man. According to Fansided's Bryan Spielman, Switzer will challenge and will likely take the spot away from Lucky Whitehead:
Switzer is a shifty player with the ability to make defenders miss with subtle movements. A skill he developed from playing running back in high school. He is the Tar Heels’ all time leader in receptions and is tied for third place in career punt return touchdowns in NCAA history, with seven.
What makes his return stats even more impressive, is he scored that many touchdowns while his number of returns decreased in both his junior and senior seasons. The decrease in returns was due to his growing importance in the offense where he caught 96 passes as a senior.
With the depth chart stacked at receiver, it would give Switzer the opportunity to move back to returner full-time. If he is able to translate his return skills to the NFL, he will certainly pose a stiff challenge to Whitehead for the starting job.
Whitehead will have to clearly out perform Switzer to keep his job in 2017. With the later being a fourth round selection and an accomplished receiver and route runner, you can safely assume his spot on the roster is safe.
Whitehead emerged as a star for the Cowboys in the preseason, but failed to score a touchdown and only had three catches when playing as a receiver last year. Plus, he missed the last regular season game of the year after missing the team flight.
All of that likely led to Dallas drafting Switzer, who caught 96 passes 1,112 yards and six touchdowns last season, all of which were career highs.
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