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By Jon Machota
3h ago
The Cowboys added a veteran wide receiver this week with multiple Pro Bowls on his resume, but it’s not the player you were expecting.
T.Y. Hilton worked out at The Star on Monday and signed with the team a few hours later.
Although he has not played all season, Hilton is expected to practice Wednesday and have a chance to play Sunday at Jacksonville. According to Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, the biggest hurdle will be getting acclimated to the language of the offense.
“A great addition,” McCarthy said. “He’s in great shape medically. … He worked out. Everything passed with flying colors. He’s been working all year.
“The timing was right and he’s ready to go. He’s an excellent addition, especially this time of year. I’ve never had the experience of adding the quality of a player like T.Y. Hilton to your roster in December. It’s very unique.”
Considering that Odell Beckham Jr. visited the Cowboys last week, most figured he’d be the wide receiver Dallas would add at this point in the season. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning that signing Hilton doesn’t change their interest in Beckham, who is not expected to be ready to play until at least January.
“He had a lot of interest out there,” Jones said of Hilton on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “We knew it. We’ve known it. Of course, he was interested in what we’re doing and what we’re doing at this time. And, so, it was an opportunity for us. We took it, and he can really help us out. He’s really one of the smartest receivers that I can remember.
“(He’s) got a lot of speed. Runs really well. And, of course, he’s ready to go.”
Hilton (5-10, 183) was a third-round pick by the Colts in 2012. He quickly became Andrew Luck’s No. 1 target, recording 1,000-yard seasons in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. He made four Pro Bowls during that time. Over the previous three seasons, Hilton, who turned 33 last month, didn’t have the same type of production as Indianapolis started QBs Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz. With Rivers in 2020, Hilton had his most productive of those three seasons, catching 56 passes for 762 yards and five touchdowns.
The Cowboys believe he can immediately add some speed to their perimeter and be a quarterback-friendly option for Dak Prescott.
“He can definitely still run,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said after watching Hilton’s workout.
With CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, Dallas has its top two wide receivers. Noah Brown has stepped into the No. 3 spot. Rookies Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin haven’t provided much. Veteran James Washington made his Cowboys debut last Sunday, but he played only 11 offensive snaps and was targeted just once. Clearly, Dallas felt like it needed more help in its passing attack and Hilton should be able to contribute in a variety of ways. He has done his most damage in the middle of the field. It’ll be interesting to see how Moore mixes things up with him there while also utilizing Lamb’s skills across the middle, particularly in the red zone and third-down situations.
The Cowboys’ wide receivers group ranks 17th this season in yards per reception (12.6) and 20th in first downs per target (36.9 percent).
“We got a lot of position flex with him,” Jones said of Hilton. “I would say that he’s got that step, but he also brings a ton of experience. That’s big, real big. Because we want him to step in immediately, and these guys that have played a lot of football in the NFL have a good chance of doing that. He’s seen the kinds of routes that we’re going to run. He has seen them time and time again in the NFL, and there in Indianapolis. So, I think he’s a real pickup for us that will frankly hit the ground running and immediately give us some help.”
According to NFL Network, Hilton will get $600,000 guaranteed for the remainder of the regular season and nearly $700,000 in playoff incentives. The maximum value of the deal is $1.5 million. He played the 2021 season under a one-year deal worth $8 million, catching 23 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games.
The Cowboys are hoping that Hilton can still showcase the route-running ability and veteran savvy that helped him earn the nickname “The Ghost” from former Colts coach Chuck Pagano for his ability to disappear behind defenses.
“He’s really, really smart,” Moore said, “and to have a guy like that, he’ll be able to handle the transition really, really well and provide us some depth. And we’ll see where all the roles kind of transpire this season as it goes on.”
McCarthy has often talked about the importance of having quality receiving options beyond the team’s top two or three wide receivers in order to exploit opposing defenses on the perimeter. Hilton should be able to take advantage of opponents’ third corner in man coverage and then exploit openings in zone coverages. In the Cowboys’ playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers last season, Cedrick Wilson, Dallas’ No. 3 WR after Gallup went down, was targeted a team-high 10 times. The Cowboys will likely need a No. 3 or No. 4 wide receiver to show up in some big moments if they’re going to make a deep playoff run. Maybe Hilton will end up being that player.
https://theathletic.com/3997848/2022/12/13/cowboys-offensive-line-playoffs/
Here is what some of Hilton’s former teammates and coaches have said about him.
Philip Rivers: “The best receivers I have been around, they have a great feel for the game, and T.Y. has that, whether it be throttling on a route or being ready for a back shoulder or a little bit of that unspoken communication that you have that we can kind of get on the same page.”
Andrew Luck: “I had more fun throwing the football to T.Y. than should be allowed probably. When I was away in 2017, for the latter half of the season, I had to figure out why I wanted to come back to play football. And I boiled it simply down to the fact that I liked my friends and I loved throwing the ball to T.Y. Hilton. He’s the best football player I’ve ever played with, and he’s a better teammate than he is a football player.”
Frank Reich: “I probably fell into this trap when I first got here that you think T.Y. is the speed guy,” Reich now admits. “He’s the guy that can get over the top, and what you learn after being around him is this guy is an elite route runner. I mean, he’s an elite route runner. He has instincts and Andrew told me that right from the start. ‘Frank, he does some unorthodox things in his route running, but I’m just telling you you’re going to learn to trust him like I’ve learned to trust him. He has this unique ability to understand leverage and spacing.’ This was Andrew speaking, ‘I’ve just learned to trust him, I have a feel for him and you are going to see it.’ And he was exactly right.”
Chuck Pagano: “This is a good signing (for the Cowboys). He’s crafty. He’s smart. He’s played for a long, long time. He knows how to get open. He’ll catch everything and give you everything he has. I think this is really good. I’m really fired up obviously for T.Y. and his family. I think this is a good move for them.”
