The Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver room is having its healthiest competition in years. A lot of that can be attributed to the addition of George Pickens, who has been as advertised in training camp.

Pickens’ arrival means the likes of Jalen Tolbert, Jonathan Mingo and Kavontae Turpin can duke it out for the WR3 job behind CeeDee Lamb and Pickens. While Turpin likely won’t be listed as WR3 on the depth chart, his usage in camp suggests Brian Schottenheimer has big plans for him.

That title will ultimately belong Mingo or Tolbert. While Bryan Broaddus of 105.3 The Fan believes Mingo has outplayed Tolbert in Oxnard, Schottenheimer said before Monday’s practice that he would give the nod to Tolbert if the season started today.

“He doesn’t get noticed out there sometimes, but he just does a great job in every phase,” Schottenheimer said of Tolbert, via Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News.

Brian Schottenheimer thinks Jalen Tolbert is beating Jonathan Mingo in Cowboys’ WR3 battle

Schottenheimer also stressed that he wants competition for the spot. He did not declare Tolbert the winner before the first preseason game. That would set a bad example.

While Mingo may be having the stronger camp than Tolbert from a pass-catching standpoint, it’s clear Schottenheimer thinks Tolbert is having a better all-around camp. One area where Tolbert doesn’t get enough credit is on special teams, where he is a willing tackler.

The Cowboys obviously aren’t going to ask Lamb, Pickens or Turpin to do that. That would risk injury to Lamb and Pickens, and Turpin is the team’s primary return specialist.

While Schottenheimer’s comment sounds contradictory – saying Tolbert goes unnoticed yet excels in every phase – it might really be a message for Mingo to step up on special teams and potentially as a blocker.

Tolbert finished second on the team last year with 610 receiving yards and first with seven touchdown catches. He only played 16 special teams snaps, but he experienced his biggest usage as a receiver in his career. He played 278 special teams snaps in 2023 when Schottenheimer served as the offensive coordinator.

While Schottenheimer should ultimately play the best players, being able to make an impact when you aren’t getting targeted is huge for earning playing time. It clearly holds a lot of weight with Schottenheimer, and it might just be the area where Tolbert is outshining Mingo.