Miles Austin

A player that has quietly gone about his business during Cowboys OTAs and minicamp has been receiver Terrance Williams, who has been playing with more confidence each snap.

During the 7-on-7 period down in the red zone, Williams ran a route out of the right slot and was able to put himself in a position right between Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox, who were in zone coverage along the goal line. Williams was able to drive hard inside, then straighten his route up buying a little space. Brandon Weeden nicely read the coverage and was able to just get the ball over the top of Wilcox, who was at full extension.

Williams, who has a tendency to body catch the ball in the middle of the field, extended his hands and grabbed the ball at the highest point before landing with both feet in bounds in the back of the end zone. It was an outstanding throw by Weeden but an even better route and catch by Williams.

With Miles Austin basically sidelined from Week 4 to Week 10, Williams was the #12 WR in fantasy, racking up 24 catches for 438 yards and five TDs in that seven-game span. In four games where he played at least 80 percent of his teams snaps, he averaged 11.0 FP (#15 WR numbers). In eight games where he played at least 70 percent of the snaps, he averaged 9.0 FP (#22 WR numbers). He faded upon Austin’s return to starter’s snaps, but showed enough in his rookie season to make him an intriguing middle-round pick in 2014. The Cowboys figure to throw a lot under new OC Scott Linehan, who was pass-happy while in Detroit. With Austin gone, the path is clear for a breakout season from Williams.