Dallas Cowboys: Five 2018 NFL Draft options to replace Dez Bryant
![ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Calvin Ridley #3 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates a seven yard touchdown catch during the fourth quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Calvin Ridley #3 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates a seven yard touchdown catch during the fourth quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/a9381089375b431bf79b3ec2b706bbda58aa2b1942dbf8e4861d6004f6276aea.jpg)
If the goal is to make a play for upside, then there isn’t a wide receiver in this draft class who’s worth placing before D.J. Chark. An elite athlete in every sense of the word, Chark has the physical tools to develop into a dominant force.
For Dak Prescott, adding a wide receiver with Chark’s ceiling would mean giving him the missing piece for what could become a legitimately elite offense.
Standing at just under 6’3″ with a 6’7″ wingspan and an explosive 40″ vertical, Chark’s catch radius is massive. Throw in the fact that he has 4.34 speed and the upper body strength to avoid being jammed at the line of scrimmage, and the sky is the limit.
It’s clearly about more than physical gifts, but a team has far more to work with when a player is as gifted as Chark than when they aren’t.
On the field, Chark posted downright absurd averages of 17.9 yards per reception in 2016 and 21.9 yards per reception in 2017. He also accumulated six touchdowns between the ground and punt returns, thus displaying his supreme versatility.
This would be a risky pick based on what Chark has shown on the field, but if the Cowboys are willing to explore a player’s upside, no wide receiver has more of it than he.