FRISCO — Fittingly, the biggest play in Jalen Tolbert’s season so far wasn’t planned.
Timing is everything in the Cowboys’ offense, so once Tolbert’s go route had completed and the ball hadn’t been thrown, he knew that something was amiss. He started retreating toward a quarterback he couldn’t even see, only deviating from his path when he saw the ball emerge. It rainbowed toward the sideline. Tolbert sprinted after the ball. He’s played at AT&T Stadium enough to know where the sideline was located, so, without looking down, he let his feet go dead, as he said, and reached for the reception.
The 34-yard pass in overtime of Sunday’s 40-40 tie was complete, setting up a pivotal overtime field goal. According to Next Gen Stats, there was a 7.2% chance of success on the completion — the third-most improbable completion in the NFL since they started tracking in 2017.
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“This is something you practice, you dream about, you think about all the time, you envision yourself making plays like that,” Tolbert said this week, “and so when it comes, it’s easy for you to do it.”
Tolbert’s play was about being ready for the expected and the unexpected. It truly was a microcosm of his season to date.
Tolbert has been on a steady climb since he was selected in the third round by the Cowboys in 2022. The former South Alabama star started slowly as a rookie, took a step in 2023, and then leapt forward last season, finishing the season with a team-high seven touchdown receptions. With Brandin Cooks gone, this season looked like a chance for Tolbert to take another step forward in the Cowboys’ offense — a chance to rise on the depth chart.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that he’s been through a lot,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “He came in here having visions that he was going to be the No. 2 [wide receiver] and then the trade happened with George [Pickens], and [KaVontae Turpin] begins to develop. And so he’s been challenged quite a bit.”
How Tolbert has responded to that, and how he responded on Sunday, has been what’s impressed his coaches and teammates. With CeeDee Lamb and Turpin both out potentially on Sunday against the New York Jets, Tolbert will likely have another opportunity to step up.
“Opportunities will come, and I know what I’m going to do with the opportunities,” Tolbert said, “and it’s just about being ready when they do come.”
Tolbert will tell you that’s always been his mentality. He said opportunities are more than just catches in his mind. He said it’s the chance to block, or to run routes to clear other receivers, or to be an asset on special teams, which he was back in 2023, especially.
“I’m always needed in a sense,” Tolbert said. “And like I said, that’s just whatever role I have that week for practice, that date, that game, that week, whatever it is, whatever that role is, I’m needed in some form or fashion.”
But there were ambitions of a larger role in 2025. After the draft passed, and the Cowboys didn’t select a wide receiver, it looked increasingly more likely that Tolbert could be the team’s No. 2 receiver behind Lamb. Then, shortly after the draft, the Cowboys traded for Pickens — a receiver that they looked at as the 1B to Lamb’s 1A.
Schottenheimer said he talks with Tolbert often. After the trade for Pickens, one of those talks had to be a hard one, Schottenheimer recalled.
“But that’s what we do. We have a hard conversation and you say you’re still very valuable to this football team,” Schottenheimer said, adding that it’s the nature of the league to constantly look for roster upgrades. “It just might be in a different style some weeks, and then other weeks you’re the next man ready to roll.”
Tolbert took the conversation to heart.
“Honestly, it was just fuel to the fire,” Tolbert said of the Pickens trade. “And not in a negative way.”
In a way, instead, that forced Tolbert to dive into other aspects of being a receiver for the Cowboys. There were points after the trade where it wasn’t easy, however. He recalled some days during training camp when he wouldn’t catch the ball at all in team drills. Instead of focusing on less targets, he focused on how he could help the team. That meant helping the very player the Cowboys acquired and placed over him on the pecking order.
“When you see a trade like that, not very exciting, from a personal aspect, but he understands that this game is about the team,” Prescott said about Tolbert. “There’s nobody out there helping George more than he is right now. And that is the best part to see as a quarterback, understanding how challenging that was for him personally, and he’s out there helping [Pickens] in any moment and any time he needs it. And that’s why he’s going to reap the success. It’s just because he does it the right way.”
So Tolbert continued to work while he waited for targets. He had six catches through the first three games combined. This past week he had four catches for 61 yards, including two for first downs. The sideline grab was the highlight.
The performance stuck out to Schottenheimer.
“He’s a special young man and [he’ll say], ‘What can I do?’ and what do I say? Keep being consistent, keep being you, don’t change,” Schottenheimer said, “and his time is going to come, and now his time is coming. We’re not as good without JT out there. JT does so many good things for us. It doesn’t always show up on the stat line, but there are so many things.”
Therein lies a lesson for younger players, Schottenheimer said. To prepare for opportunities before they come, both unexpected and expected.
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