Cowboys Sign Receiver After Breakout Season Amid Roster Moves To Help Titans Replace The Ace
The Dallas Cowboys added several undrafted free agents just minutes after the 2024 NFL draft ended. One of these first signings included Northwestern wideout Cam Johnson, per Draft Network’s Justin Melo.
The receiver is coming off the best statistical season of his collegiate career. Johnson posted 54 receptions for 715 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2023.
The playmaker spent his first four seasons at Vanderbilt then transferred to Arizona State. After one season with the Sun Devils, Johnson joined Northwestern. During a March 5, 2024 interview with Melo, Johnson labeled the Cowboys as one of the teams who showed the most interest during the pre-draft process.
“All of my interviews went well,” Johnson told Draft Network. “Honestly, every meeting felt so different. The teams that really stood out, the ones that I felt like really liked me were the Cowboys, 49ers, Ravens, and Titans. I felt like they liked me a lot, they really liked my game.”
Dallas also signed another receiving threat in Minnesota tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, per The Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken. The 6-foot-7 tight end gives Dak Prescott another big receiving target, if Spann-Ford is able to make the final roster.
“Another promising young tight end for the Cowboys: They have agreed to terms with former Minnesota TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, a person familiar with the deal said,” Gehlken detailed in an April 27 message on X. “He is 6-6, 260 pounds with a large catch radius. Dynamic inline option to compete for opportunity in 2024.”
Spann-Ford’s best collegiate season came in 2022 when the tight end posted 42 catches for 497 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave Spann-Ford a seventh-round grade in his pre-daft evaluation of the tight end.
“Big tight end with the frame of an in-line Y receiver but the playing style of a move tight end,” Zierlein detailed in his pre-draft profile. “Spann-Ford showed some improvement in his run blocks in 2023 but sustaining them and blocking with accuracy in space is still a work in progress. He’s a little heavy-legged on zone-beater routes underneath and lacks instincts to create separation against man.
“Spann-Ford struggled badly with drops and contested catches this past season, but teams might be intrigued by the potential matchup issues he could create as a big slot target.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71797901/usa_today_19418959.0.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Dallas did not use one draft pick to add a running back. This despite owner Jerry Jones speaking glowingly about Texas running back Jonathon Brooks after the first round.
The Carolina Panthers took Brooks with the No. 46 overall selection in the second round, well before the Cowboys were on the clock at No. 56. While this could change, Dallas also has not signed an undrafted running back in any of their initial moves following the draft. ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that a reunion with Ezekiel Elliott “looks more and more likely.”
