Can Miami football alum Allen Hurns be Cowboys top wide receiver?
Miami football alum Allen Hurns signed a two year $12 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason. Can he become Dallas’ top receiver after four years in Jacksonville?
Profiling each NFL teams’ top receiver entering the 2018 season, ESPN has Miami football alum Hurns and Terrance Williams as the Cowboys co-number one receivers. Hurns is entering his fifth season in the NFL after playing his first four with Jacksonville. Williams is going to be in his sixth NFL season, all of them with Dallas.
In his first four years in the NFL Hurns has 189 receptions for 2,669 yards and 21 touchdowns. Williams has 230 receptions for 3,359 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Hurns has missed 11 games over the last two seasons. Williams has been one of the most durable players in the NFL during his first five seasons in the league. He has played in all 80 regular season games possible during that time. Williams has started 66 games in his career and 58 of 64 in the last four years.
Hurns has started 42 of the 52 games in which he has played during his career. He has missed time during the course of his career. Hurns injuries have included being in concussion protocol, having an ankle injury and a hamstring injury that ended his 2016 season after week 12.
Hurns struggled during the Jaguars first two playoff games last season. He bounced back in the AFC Championship Game loss to New England. Hurns led the Jaguars with six catches and 80 receiving yards against the Patriots.
The Cowboys have said they plan on going with a wide receiver by committee approach. Hurns is the only Dallas receiver with a 1,000-yard season to his credit. He set career highs with 64 receptions for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016.
Hurns was released by Jacksonville after last season because the injuries affected his performance. ESPN outlined the expectations from Hurns, Williams and the rest of the Dallas receiving corps below.
"“2018 outlook: The Cowboys say they will go with a committee approach at receiver, but Allen Hurns is the only wideout with a 1,000-yard season to his credit, with 1,031 yards in 2015. He did not top 500 yards in his final two seasons with Jacksonville, which played a part in his release, although he missed 11 games in 2016 and ’17.The Cowboys don’t need him to replace the 2012-14 Dez Bryant, who averaged more than 1,200 yards and double-digit touchdowns, but they will need him to be the leader of the committee.He had a good start to his work with Dak Prescott in the offseason program but will need to continue that once training camp begins. — Todd Archer, ESPN Cowboys reporterProjected target share: 19/15 percent. Dez Bryant and his career 25 percent target share are gone, which means the Cowboys’ wide receiver competition is wide open in 2018. Hurns averaged a share right at 18 percent during each of his four seasons in Jacksonville, Williams hasn’t eclipsed 18 percent during five years in Dallas, and Cole Beasley has cleared 14 percent only once in his career (21 percent in 2016).The three veterans and rookie Michael Gallup figure to lead the unit in 2018, but there might not be much separation in targets between the No. 1 and No. 4 option. — Clay.”"
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Hurns has a chance to resurrect his career and possibly become the number one receiver. He seemed destined to become number one in Jacksonville before injuries.
It’s not the first time Hurns has dealt with injuries during his football career. Hurns played in only one game his Senior year in high school before suffering a season-ending injury.
In addition to losing Bryant, Dallas also lost tight end Jason Witten to retirement. Witten broke Miami football alum Michael Irvin’s Dallas team records for receptions and receiving yards for a career.
Hurns will be the latest Miami football alum to play a big role in Dallas. Former Miami Football coach Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles with Irvin and former Hurricanes defensive tackle Russell Maryland after the 1992 and ’93 seasons.
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Replacing both Bryant and Witten’s production will likely take a committee approach as the Cowboys have been saying. That doesn’t mean that one of the players cannot step up and be the leader of that group. Hurns NFL history when healthy suggests he can do that.