Expert: Bryant Among Top Five Rookies To Watch

If you haven't heard, Dez Bryant is pretty good at football.

That's been the word out of Dallas since shortly after the draft, and indeed almost every practice this offseason thus far, from rookie mini-camp to OTAs. The praise has sprung from obvious sources, like coaches, teammates and former Cowboys, and vaguely surprising sources, like Charles Barkley. Yes, that Charles Barkley.

But until now, Bryant's talent hasn't been put up to that of his 2010 draft class brethren in the form of a list.

ESPN's Jon Clayton listed Bryant as one of the top five rookies to watch in 2010 and, like everyone else, lauded the Lufkin, Texas-native's promise.

Clayton compares Bryant favorably to the Giants' Hakeem Nicks and the Vikings' Percy Harvin, and cites an unnamed NFL observer who said that Bryant will be better than Michael Crabtree, who was drafted in the first round by San Francisco last season. This observer, he said, emerged from a practice earlier this year shaking his head in disbelief.

According to Clayton, the addition of Bryant could propel the team to legitimate contender status in the NFC.

"Putting Bryant on an 11-win Cowboys team is almost the same as what we saw last year with Harvin going to a playoff-bound Vikings team," Clayton said. "Harvin caught 60 passes and scored eight touchdowns.

"Bryant may not get 60 catches in an overloaded Cowboys receiving corps, but he could get 10 touchdowns and loads of highlights."