The Dallas Cowboys were looking to augment their offense in the 2023 draft. Their 2022 team was still high scoring, ranking fourth in the league in points, but the passing offense was centered around CeeDee Lamb. Lamb had 107 receptions in 2022 for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns, but the next-best receiver was Noah Brown, who totaled a paltry 555 yards and three scores.
Dallas had drafted South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert in the third round in 2022, but he barely saw the field, making just two catches in eight games. The team needed a compliment for Lamb. The team made an interesting move in free agency, trading for veteran Brandin Cooks, a declining veteran who they hoped still had something left in the tank. The team was interested in getting better and younger though, and in the draft build up, they looked deep into local product, SMU wideout Rashee Rice.
The team may have dodged a major bullet when the Chiefs selected Rice three picks before Dallas was on the clock in the second round. Rice was sentenced to spend 30 days in jail on Tuesday as a result of violating his probation from a prior conviction.
Rice pled guilty to felony collision stemming from a multi-car crash in the Dallas area back in 2024.
As a result of the conviction, Rice was suspended the first six games of 2025. He’s played a total of 28 games in his three seasons, totaling 1,796 receiving yards and scoring 14 touchdowns.
Rice was a 30-visit for Dallas, one of several early WR prospects they looked into. The Cowboys love to select from their visit list, so the concentration of WR shows how serious they were. Prospects who visited the star from that draft class include current OPOY Jaxson Smith-Njigba, along with Quentin Johnson, Zay Flowers, Jalin Hyatt, Josh Downs (brother of 2026 first-round pick Caleb Downs) and Jonathan Mingo.
Tangentially, the group of 30 visitors and Dallas Day participants included other current Cowboys DeMarvion Overshown, Dee Winters, along with draft pick Viliami Fehoko.
With the option to select Rice off the table, Dallas used the No. 58 selection on TE Luke Schoonmaker from Michigan. Schoonmaker has played in 51 contests but has only tallied 438 receiving yards and three scores over the same span.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Former Cowboys draft target, 30 visitor and local kid heading to jail
Reporting by K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
