Dez Bryant

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(+) Breakout city!

(+) Dez is growing up nicely and appears to be on the right track towards stardom

(+) Tony Romo is an elite QB and he'll be locking in on his best weapon plenty this season

(+) He’s been showing solid chemistry with Romo in OTAs thus far

(+) Tony Romo: "He's (Dez) getting better and better every week."

(+) The general consensus is that Dez will enter the season as the Cowboys #1 WR

(+) He has worked a ton on his conditioning so he doesn't wear down later in games/later in the season (as he’s been known to do)

(+) Witten's stats seem to be dipping a bit, which could mean more for Bryant

(+) Laurent Robinson is no longer around and in fact, the Cowboys currently lack a real threat at the WR3 position entirely

(+) Has always been a big TD guy as he averages a TD every 100 yards – meaning if he gets 1,500 yards, he'll potentially have 15 TDs as well

(–) Hasn't made it through a full season without injury yet

(–) Has been an immature guy that can rub mentors, teammates, coaches and Deon Sanders the wrong way

(–) Has yet to have a 1,000-yard season

(–) In two years, his best catch total is 63

(–) The Cowboys will likely run the ball more with a legit RB stud in DeMarco Murray

(–) Hasn’t been a big yards-per-catch player and not really a big receptions guy either… TDs are his thing

(–) If the Cowboys keep him returning the ball on special teams, they’re idiots, and it will end up hurting both him and his fantasy value

The only thing that can hamper Bryant is what hampered Crabtree last year, a lengthy holdout.  What’s concerning is that his agent, Eugene Parker, is the same agent that Crabtree had during his holdout spell last season.  The Cowboys have indicated they won’t pay him much more than his draft slot indicates, so this could be interesting to watch play out.

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UPDATE:  Bryant signed, and signed early.  Great to see this type of humility.

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Bryant was the third wide receiver in most of the Cowboys’ three wide receiver sets during OTAs (Miles Austin, Roy Williams), so indications are that Bryant will get significant playing time right away.  The Cowboys experimented with moving breakout-receiver Austin to the slot in the spring, giving Bryant more vertical space to work with on the outside.  Don’t be surprised if he overtakes Williams by the end of the year as the No. 2 receiver. 

~ Bryant looks to already be ahead of Patrick Crayton (who is asking to be released) so he's definitely a top-3 receiver for the Cowboys

~ Tony Romo gets better every year

~ Roy Williams just doesn't look like the same stud he used to be

If Bryant turns out to be a stud in the NFL, which is likely, the Cowboys might have one of their former greats to thank.  Due to a relationship with a certain Deion Sanders during the summer before his senior year, Bryant was suspended for a large part of that season, causing his stock to fall dramatically.  Bryant apparently lied to NCAA investigators when asked if he had ever been over to Sanders’ home, when in fact, it wasn’t even a violation to be there.  But that lie got him in trouble and caused him to sit on the sidelines for the majority of what could have been a record-breaking senior year.

That episode does factor into people’s perceptions about Bryant being a prima donna.  He also forgot his cleats during Pro-Day (the most important day of his young career) and seems to have a bit of an attitude on the field.  However, when you’re  6’2” and 225-pounds and can do this (below), certain teams (such as the Cowboys) will let that slide.  Here’s to hoping he’s not another T.O., because the guy has huge potential.

Bryant does not have a Twitter account.  The official Team Twitter account comes through here: Cowboys Player Tweets

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Get ready for this...

Bryant signed his rookie contract well before training camp opened and proved he's not simply about the money (like so many others).  The deal was for five years, $11.8 million that contained $8.3 million guaranteed, a $1.95 million signing bonus, and another $3.185 million available through a one-time "likely to be earned" incentive clause.  Not all the details are known just yet:

2010 - $320,000 (+ $570,000 roster bonus)

2011 - Under Contract

2012 - Under Contract

2013 - Under Contract

2014 - Under Contract

2015 - Free Agent

You might want to handcuff Bryant to Roy Williams at this point if you can, even though both probably have some fantasy value on their own

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