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Cole Beasley doesn’t need a lot of prodding to bring up how much he thinks outsiders will overlook Dallas receivers now that the Cowboys have moved on from Dez Bryant.

The new dean of the group sees opportunity rather than uncertainty at a position that lacks a big name Patrick Kerney Jersey , and the history of big production that usually goes with it.

Dallas isn’t necessarily looking for a new No. 1 receiver while also trying to replace 15-year tight end Jason Witten, who retired as the franchise leader in catches and yards. Headlined by holdovers Beasley and Terrance Williams and newcomers Allen Hurns and Tavon Austin, the Cowboys think their strength could be in numbers – and matchups.

”They’re giving everybody an opportunity to do everything,” said Beasley, who is going into his seventh season. ”This is the most open it’s ever been since I’ve been here as far as who’s where. That makes it a lot of fun. And it’s exciting to see what everybody can do.”

The Cowboys cut Bryant , the club’s career leader with 73 touchdowns receiving, in a cost-cutting move after three subpar years under the big contract he signed after his only All-Pro season in 2014.

The thing is, Bryant’s replacements are coming off subpar years as well.

Beasley’s catches and yards fell by more than half from career highs in 2016. Williams didn’t have a touchdown for the first time in his five seasons, and became an off-field concern with an arrest in a public intoxication case.

Hurns, a free agent addition going into his fifth season, didn’t reach 500 yards in either of his two years in Jacksonville since the only 1,000-yard season among the 12 receivers that Dallas currently plans to take to training camp late next month.

Austin, a bust as the eighth overall pick in 2013 by the Rams when they were still in St. Louis, was mostly a spectator for the most dramatic turnaround in the NFL last year. The Los Angeles Rams took the NFC West at 11-5 with the franchise’s first winning season since 2003. The Cowboys traded for him during the draft.

”We’re all coming off years that we’re not so proud of,” said Hurns, who also has the only double-digit touchdown season in the group with 10 in 2015, when he had 1 Stephen Gostkowski Jersey ,031 yards. ”We’ve all got that motivation to come in and do well. What people talk about, it just adds fuel to the fire. But that’s not our pure motivation.”

Hurns didn’t want to overlook the rookies in a group with something to prove, and there are two to watch. Michael Gallup was the first receiver the Cowboys have drafted post-Bryant – a third-rounder out of Colorado State. Dallas took Cedrick Wilson from Boise State in the sixth round.

It’s likely to be a while before practice is any indication of how the receivers might line up for the opener Sept. 9 at Carolina. For one thing, Williams wasn’t on the field during offseason practices because he broke his right foot in January and had surgery.

Nearly everyone has had first-team work with quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, the only sure things at the skill positions on offense right now for the Cowboys.

”There’s a big hole,” Gallup said. ”There’s a lot of open space in there. It just opens your eyes if you’re a rookie, honestly. You can come in here and potentially start Day 1. That role is something that everybody wants to go get. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

There’s a new coach to go with all those new receivers as well. Sanjay Lal replaced Derek Dooley as part of an overhaul of coach Jason Garrett’s staff.

”I’m excited to see how it shakes out,” Lal said. ”I couldn’t tell you who the six or five or however many we keep are going to be, and that’s exciting to me. And for them it should be exciting. Gives you all the motivation you need.”

Prescott planned to get together with the receivers during the break between minicamp and training camp. The third-year QB envisioned a gathering away from Dallas, working out in the morning and hanging out in the afternoon.

Looking for a bounce-back himself after the Cowboys missed the playoffs a year after he was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for the NFC East champs, Prescott won’t be trying to force the ball to a No. 1 receiver. That happened at times with Bryant.

”I think when you come out of minicamp, you kind of see that, when you see all the different guys we’re throwing to, the different guys that are running with the ones, different guys that are running with the twos,” Prescott said. ”It’s about spreading the ball around, just going to the right place with the ball.”

Prescott will have plenty of motivated targets.

”I think last season was a good thing for all of us Shaun Alexander Jersey ,” Beasley said. ”It added like a hunger to our group. A lot of people pushed us to the side this offseason and they’re sleeping on us, but that gives us a chance to prove a lot of people wrong.”

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— John Elway’s much-celebrated 2018 draft class is turning heads at the Broncos‘ training camp, particularly ex-SMU receiver Courtland Sutton, a second-round pick whose spectacular catches have become a daily occurrence.

Big applauses also greet draft picks Bradley Chubb, Josey Jewell and DaeSean Hamilton along with another rookie who went undrafted.

Phillip Lindsay , a 5-foot-8, 180-pound running back who was born in Denver, grew up in adjacent Aurora, attended Denver South High School and the University of Colorado and is drawing praises from coaches and teammates.

“No. 2 has shown explosion,” coach Vance Joseph said, referring to the rookie by his jersey number.

“He’s a shifty little back,” said linebacker Todd Davis. “He can definitely make people miss.”

“We’re definitely going to have some things planned for Phillip,” predicted Von Miller, who sees Lindsay carving a niche in a diverse backfield that includes veteran Devontae Booker, second-year speedster De’Angelo Henderson and rookie draft picks Royce Freeman of Oregon and David Williams of Arkansas.

Lindsay is leading the way in plays that draw reactions from the crowd.

“Guys like that in the league, you just can’t cover them,” Miller said. “They’re just assets to the offense. You have to have a back like that and we definitely have one.”

Uninvited to the NFL combine and bypassed on draft weekend Mike Remmers Jersey , Lindsay signed a contract with his hometown team that would pay him $480,000 this season and included a $15,000 signing bonus.

By comparison, Freeman’s signing bonus was $997,020 and Williams’ was $93,900.

A Colorado alum himself, Joseph was no stranger to Lindsay’s talents.

“It’s hard to believe he didn’t go to the combine,” Joseph said. “Obviously he’s a Buff, so I’ve watched Phillip for three years as a starter in a major conference. He was a great player. We were all surprised he didn’t go to the combine, and obviously signing him as a free agent was tough because we drafted two backs. We pursued him heavy and he stayed home.”

Lindsay’s college coach, Mike MacIntyre, said he has no doubt his former pupil will make it in the NFL because of his versatility, tenacity and willingness to make the most of any morsel of playing time he gets.

“In college he covered kicks, returned kicks, he could play on all four big phases,” MacIntyre said. “And then he’s a guy that can catch the ball really well, so he could be a third-down back. He’s a guy that could block well Chuck Foreman Jersey , could run well, so when you take him to the game, even if he doesn’t play a lot of running back early, he’s going to play a lot of plays for you. So he’s valuable for you as a coaching staff and a team.

“He’ll be the special team coaches’ dream, I promise you that.”

MacIntyre got that right.

“I love Phillip,” Broncos special teams coordinator Tom McMahon declared. “Phillip works his butt off.”

He garnered the nickname “Tasmanian Devil” in college because of the frenetic energy he brings to the team as the undersized underdog he’s been all his life.

“I always bring a chip on my shoulder, not because I’m mad but because I know what I have to do,” Lindsay said. “For me, I’m a running back that’s 5-8 and 190 pounds and I have to go and get my respect for the NFL now.”

It’s nothing new.

“I mean, since when have I not been the underdog?” Lindsay said.

NOTES: In honor of owner Pat Bowlen and his wife, Annabel, both of whom are fighting Alzheimer’s, the Broncos handed out purple towels to their fans and wore purple-and-gray T-shirts Saturday to raise funds and awareness of the disease. … The Broncos will hold a 45-play scrimmage Sunday.

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