The Dallas Cowboys didn’t use any of their 9 picks in the 2025 NFL draft on wide receivers. That doesn’t mean they’re not still going to try and find some more talent at the position, one way or another.
Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper reported the Cowboys signed a pair of college standout wide receivers as undrafted free agents on May 2.
“The team announced on Friday that they have signed Traeshon Holden and Josh Kelly to their 90-man roster,” Alper wrote. “The Cowboys are holding their rookie minicamp this weekend. Holden had 45 catches for 718 yards and five touchdowns while at Oregon last season.”
Kelly is coming off a 1,000-yard receiving season at Texas Tech in 2024 and earned All-Big 12 honors before watching his draft stock tank after an underwhelming performance at the NFL scouting combine.
Kelly Teamed Up With No. 1 Overall Pick at Wazzu
Kelly, a Fresno, California, native, spent his first 4 seasons of college football at Fresno State and was an All-Mountain West Conference pick in 2022.
He transferred to Washington State for the 2023 season, where he had 61 receptions for 923 yards and 8 touchdowns while catching passes from quarterback Cam Ward, who was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Both Ward and Kelly both left Washington State after the 2023 season after the Cougars found themselves without a conference after the Pac-12 disbanded. Ward landed at Miami, where he threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and 4 interceptions while Kelly landed at Texas Tech.
Kelly found himself in a strange situation in Lubbock with the highest-rated recruit in program history on the roster with freshman Micah Hudson. Considered on the same level as players like Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams headed into the season, Hudson finished with just 8 receptions for 123 yards and no touchdowns, transferred to Texas A&M then transferred back to Texas Tech in a bizarre move.
Kelly responded by leading the team with 89 receptions for 1,023 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Disastrous Showing for Kelly at NFL Combine
Kelly’s draft stock went in the tank following a disastrous showing at the NFL scouting combine in February, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.70 seconds.
“Kelly has experience playing inside and outside, but the lack of vertical speed he showed on tape popped up again at the NFL Scouting Combine when he ran a 4.70 40-yard dash,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. “Kelly put a few highlight catches on tape. However, he lacks separation quickness to lose man coverage and figures to see a higher percentage of contested looks as a pro.”
“Was a big play WR at Tech, wondered a few times watching him play if he’d get signed,” Cowboys fan and X user @Kelly_K_9 wrote. “With how thin our talent is at WR, anythings possible for this kid! Love the long shots!”
Holden spent 3 seasons at Alabama before transferring to Oregon for his final 2 seasons, where an off-field incident overshadowed his time there.
Holden was arrested on felony weapons charges less than a month after he transferred to Oregon in January 2023 and dismissed from the team before being reinstated by head coach Dan Lanning one month later after the charges were dropped.
