Just how talented is Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant?
Well, Pro Football Hall of Famer turned NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin--who has served as a sort of mentor for Bryant since he came into the league--said this week that he wishes he had had Bryant’s natural, physical gifts when he was playing.
"I look at him and say, 'That's what I used to pray for,'" Irvin told ESPNDallas.com. "I used to pray for that! I used to pray, 'Why didn't you give me this?' Absolutely!
"What I was great at we can teach. We can teach thinking through the game, consistent route running. We can teach [that]. What he has, you can only hope and pray that God has blessed you with it."
Irvin took his praise for the newest No. 88 a step further in the same segment, suggesting that Bryant is capable of becoming the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiver--a goal that Bryant discussed earlier this offseason.
"He's so physically gifted it's incredible," Irvin said. "He can absolutely do that.
"He's learning how to do more little things now. That means that, 'I know I can run by you any time I want to, but let me make sure I spend time running this in route, that out route to set you up later to run by you.' That's the difference between 1,500 yards -- or 1,382 yards -- and 2,000 yards. It's the difference, and it's not a difference that's really shoulders down. It's a difference that's shoulders up.”
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