Getty The Cowboys are signing former Fresno State WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper.
The Dallas Cowboys are adding a notable receiver to their roster.
Since the April 29 conclusion of the NFL draft, the Cowboys have been active in signing undrafted free agents, including Jalen Moreno-Cropper, a 5-foot-11, 172-pound wide receiver out of Fresno State, according to Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News.
Moreno-Cropper caught 84 passes for 1,093 yards and five touchdowns during his senior season. Gehlken called him “a playmaker after catch” in his April 29 tweet.
Why Cowboys Are Signing Jalen Moreno-Cropper
Moreno-Cropper was a first-team All-Mountain West selection last season, leading the conference in receptions while ranking third in receiving yards.
He signed with the team he grew up rooting for, according to Alec Nolan of ABC 30 Action News in Fresno, California.
“As the 259th and final pick of the NFL Draft rung out in Kansas City, Parlier’s Jalen Moreno-Cropper did not hear his name called on Saturday, but he’s getting a shot with the team he grew up watching,” Nolan wrote. “The former Fresno State WR and Buchanan grad signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys shortly after the draft ended, keeping his NFL dream alive.”
Jalen Moreno-Cropper Had Chance to Play at Power Five Schools
As an undrafted free agent, the 21-year-old receiver faces an uphill battle in making the Cowboys’ roster given the number of receivers on the depth chart. However, he’s a bona fide speedster — he ran a 4.40 40-yard dash at the combine — and he was once a four-star recruit who decided to play at Fresno State over much bigger Power Five programs.
“Cropper starred at Sanger High School for three seasons, then played his senior year at Buchanan High School,” Jackson Moore of 247 Sports wrote. “He was evaluated as a 4-Star recruit by 247Sports with a 90 rating. He became a rare local 4-Star recruit to choose Fresno State over Power-5 options – his offers included Utah, Arizona, Cal, Indiana, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA.”
As it stands, the Cowboys have three receivers — CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup — who are essentially guaranteed roster locks for the 53-man roster. The rest of the receiver spots are up for grabs, with returnees such as Simi Fehoko, Dennis Houston, KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert battling. The Cowboys also selected South Carolina receiver Jalen Brooks in the seventh round of the draft. Houston was an undrafted receiver who made the Cowboys’ roster last season due to an impressive training camp.
The Cowboys kept eight receivers on its roster at the end of training camp last season, with the injured James Washington going on injured reserve and Gallup missing Week 1 due to recovery from an ACL injury suffered during the previous season.
Assuming Turpin once again makes the roster — he made it to the Pro Bowl due to his special teams performance as a returner — it wouldn’t be a surprise if Dallas kept as many as six or seven receivers on its roster. That would leave two or three spots open among Moreno-Cropper, Fehoko, Houston and Tolbert. Veteran Antonio Callaway was also signed to a contract after spending the end of last season on the practice squad.