Los Angeles Rams: Could former wideout Tavon Austin be in for big 2018 season?

Will former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin have a breakout year for the Dallas Cowboys, or will it be more of what the Rams saw last season?

During the 2018 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Rams traded former first-round pick Tavon Austin to the Dallas Cowboys for a sixth-round pick (No. 192, with which they drafted offensive lineman Jemil Demby).

As the teams in the league enter the downtime of the season, we should ask, what kind of season will Austin have?

The first question we have to ask is, will Austin even make the team? Since Dallas only gave up a sixth rounder for him, it is not automatically  guaranteed that he makes the opening day squad.

Related Story: 4 reasons LA is next NFL juggernaut

That being said, the Cowboys have one of the worst receiver groupings in the NFL. Here are the players of note in addition to Austin:

• Allan Hurns
• Terrance Williams
• Michael Gallup
• Cole Beasley
• KD Cannon

Thus, Austin is likely to make the team. In fact, this may be his best shot to get traditional wide receiver reps with a decent offense. You may recall, he came into the league in 2013 and played seven games with quarterback Sam Bradford before the former Oklahoma star got hurt for the year.

Bradford would not play for the team again, and Austin would see Shaun Hill, Austin Davis, Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Jared Goff all take turns at leading a poorly run Jeff Fisher offense.

It did not make Austin into a star. By the 2017 season, Sean McVay and the new offense had loaded up on receiving talent, meaning there were not snaps to be had.

However, he did have some production in his time with the team. Austin’s best year was 2015, when he had over 900 yards from scrimmage (receiving and rushing) with 10 total touchdowns and was a significant contributor on special teams. He did this while being a swiss army knife at best, and a gadget player at worst. He did not become the NFL wideout the team expected him to be when they traded up for him.

In Dallas, though, Austin will have a trusted quarterback throwing the ball (Dak Prescott), a star running back to draw defenses to the line (Ezekiel Elliot) and—what he did not have with the Rams—a good shot at seeing the field at wideout. 2018 is Austin’s best shot to show he is not just a gadget player.

Might he win a spot in punt return duties? The speedster of diminutive size has flashed skill in returning punts, making teams respect his ability to take it to the house. However, fumbling issues from a year ago made him lose the job to wide receiver Pharoh Cooper.

Next: 3 reactions to Aaron Donald not reporting 2018 minicamp

Can Austin win the job for Dallas? Ryan Switzer was the punt returner for the Cowboys last season, but is now in Oakland. Austin would seem to be the favorite to win that job.

It will be fun to see how Austin does this season.  Unfortunately, the Rams will not get to play against Austin this year, but chances are these two parties will meet again at some point down the road.