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By Jon Machota
5m ago
The expectation for the 2022 Cowboys is to make a deep playoff run. Of course, there are a lot of skeptics when that hasn’t happened in 26 years. But that is the goal after Dallas won 12 games before losing to the visiting San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
“We’re going to be better,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said following their season-ending loss in January. “We’re going to be better just through the process. No. 1, I trust our personnel process. I think we have to give our personnel department (credit) and just what we did last year to this year. The change we had on defense from a personnel and coaching staff standpoint, that’s the biggest change that I’ve ever been a part of, both the player and coaching. To pull all that together, there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of credit that goes to a number of people.
“I have the same confidence that we’ll do that moving forward. Now, it’s going to be a challenge. You can’t keep everybody. But that’s the era that we’re in. We’ll go through that and (we’re) counting on another excellent draft class to go with the two that we have. You’ve got to remember, I coached the youngest team in the league for a number of years, so I have great belief in draft and development. This will hopefully be the first year that we can have a normal offseason program. I think with that, the combination of veterans and young players that we have, I think we definitely can take a step forward.”
With organized team activities starting next week at The Star, here’s a look at 10 players who need to step up most for the 2022 Cowboys.
10. DeMarcus Lawrence, DE. Dallas’ top edge rusher is entering his ninth season. As long as he stays healthy, the Cowboys should be solid up front. Lawrence missed 10 games last season because of a broken foot. He worked out a new three-year, $40 million contract with Dallas in March. The double-digit sack numbers haven’t been there over the previous three seasons, but the 30-year-old is still capable of playing at a Pro-Bowl level. Lawrence is a complete edge rusher, capable of making an impact in every area of the game. The Cowboys need him to do that for a full season in 2022.
9. Dorance Armstrong, DE. The departure of Randy Gregory in free agency means someone needs to step up at right defensive end. Maybe it’s Dante Fowler or Chauncey Golston or even rookie Sam Williams, but Armstrong is the pick here because he’s been with the franchise the longest. This will be Armstrong’s fifth season in Dallas after he signed a two-year, $12 million deal in March. He had a career-high five sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 13 games last season. Armstrong turns 25 next month. His best ball should still be in front of him.
8. Neville Gallimore, DT. He suffered a dislocated elbow during the preseason that caused some in the organization to think he’d miss the entire 2021 season. Gallimore ended up playing in five regular-season games and the playoff loss to San Francisco, but it was clear that he wasn’t close to 100 percent. He is entering Year 3, and the Cowboys need him to have a breakout season. Gallimore and Osa Odighizuwa have the most upside of the defensive tackles on the roster. If both continue to improve, Dallas should be fine in the middle. If not, this will likely be an area addressed early in next year’s draft.
7. Tony Pollard, RB. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Pollard has a chance to make a lot of money with a big season. Ezekiel Elliott remains the team’s No. 1 back, but there should be plenty of opportunities for Pollard in a variety of ways. Losing pass-catchers like Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson and Blake Jarwin this offseason means there should be more targets available for Pollard. His touches have increased each of his three seasons in Dallas. Pollard had 86 carries and 15 receptions his rookie season, 101 carries and 28 receptions in 2020, and 130 carries and 39 receptions last year. There’s no reason to think those numbers shouldn’t continue to climb this season.
6. Terence Steele, RT. Steele took over the starting position last season, but it’s officially his now that La’el Collins is in Cincinnati. The coaching staff is confident that Steele, an undrafted free agent in 2020, can handle the job after starting 27 games over the previous two seasons. Dallas’ offensive line was a significant disappointment last season and faces even more questions this year. Steele playing well at right tackle would go a long way in getting this position group back to being a team strength.
5. Tyron Smith, LT. He hasn’t played a full season since 2015. He has missed 20 games because of injury over the past two seasons. The Cowboys drafted a player in the first round that they hope can be his eventual replacement at left tackle. But for now, Dallas needs Smith to not only stay healthy, but play like one of the better left tackles in the league. If he can do that, the Cowboys have the potential to get their offense looking similar to the first half of the 2021 season. If he can’t, there’s a good chance the offense looks like it did during the second half of the season.
4. Tyler Biadasz, C. Year 3 has to be a big one for the team’s starting center. Biadasz started every game last season. He’ll get competition from Matt Farniok and maybe undrafted free agent Alec Lindstrom during training camp, but the expectation is that Biadasz will remain the starter. The bottom line is the Cowboys just have to be better at center, especially considering that they’ll likely be starting a rookie at left guard in Tyler Smith.
CeeDee Lamb (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
3. CeeDee Lamb, WR. With Cooper gone, Lamb steps into the No. 1 wide receiver spot. He’s certainly talented enough to take on that job. The team’s first-round pick in 2020 saw his statistics improve in every area from Year 1 to Year 2. He led Dallas in targets (120), receptions (79) and receiving yards (1,102) last season. He was tied for third in receiving touchdowns with six. But now he’s the player that teams will be game-planning to take away. And with Michael Gallup possibly missing multiple games to start the season, Lamb will likely see a lot of double coverage. How will he respond? How will offensive coordinator Kellen Moore find ways to get him the ball?
2. Dak Prescott, QB. He played like an MVP candidate during the first six games last season, but things changed after the strained calf at New England. It obviously wasn’t all on the quarterback. The lack of an effective running game didn’t help. But Prescott has to play at an elite level if there is any hope of the Cowboys making a deep playoff run. Having a healthy offseason to be a full participant should help. Prescott is going to need it while working new wide receivers like James Washington and Jalen Tolbert into the offense.
1. Ezekiel Elliott, RB. He can’t fix the running game all by himself, but Elliott will probably be the biggest factor if they’re able to get things back on track. He clearly wasn’t himself after suffering a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Week 4. McCarthy said last week that he believes Elliott is back to 100 percent. It’s difficult to imagine the Cowboys winning enough games to make the playoffs and then winning multiple playoff games without Elliott playing at an elite level.
5m ago
The expectation for the 2022 Cowboys is to make a deep playoff run. Of course, there are a lot of skeptics when that hasn’t happened in 26 years. But that is the goal after Dallas won 12 games before losing to the visiting San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
“We’re going to be better,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said following their season-ending loss in January. “We’re going to be better just through the process. No. 1, I trust our personnel process. I think we have to give our personnel department (credit) and just what we did last year to this year. The change we had on defense from a personnel and coaching staff standpoint, that’s the biggest change that I’ve ever been a part of, both the player and coaching. To pull all that together, there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of credit that goes to a number of people.
“I have the same confidence that we’ll do that moving forward. Now, it’s going to be a challenge. You can’t keep everybody. But that’s the era that we’re in. We’ll go through that and (we’re) counting on another excellent draft class to go with the two that we have. You’ve got to remember, I coached the youngest team in the league for a number of years, so I have great belief in draft and development. This will hopefully be the first year that we can have a normal offseason program. I think with that, the combination of veterans and young players that we have, I think we definitely can take a step forward.”
With organized team activities starting next week at The Star, here’s a look at 10 players who need to step up most for the 2022 Cowboys.
10. DeMarcus Lawrence, DE. Dallas’ top edge rusher is entering his ninth season. As long as he stays healthy, the Cowboys should be solid up front. Lawrence missed 10 games last season because of a broken foot. He worked out a new three-year, $40 million contract with Dallas in March. The double-digit sack numbers haven’t been there over the previous three seasons, but the 30-year-old is still capable of playing at a Pro-Bowl level. Lawrence is a complete edge rusher, capable of making an impact in every area of the game. The Cowboys need him to do that for a full season in 2022.
9. Dorance Armstrong, DE. The departure of Randy Gregory in free agency means someone needs to step up at right defensive end. Maybe it’s Dante Fowler or Chauncey Golston or even rookie Sam Williams, but Armstrong is the pick here because he’s been with the franchise the longest. This will be Armstrong’s fifth season in Dallas after he signed a two-year, $12 million deal in March. He had a career-high five sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 13 games last season. Armstrong turns 25 next month. His best ball should still be in front of him.
8. Neville Gallimore, DT. He suffered a dislocated elbow during the preseason that caused some in the organization to think he’d miss the entire 2021 season. Gallimore ended up playing in five regular-season games and the playoff loss to San Francisco, but it was clear that he wasn’t close to 100 percent. He is entering Year 3, and the Cowboys need him to have a breakout season. Gallimore and Osa Odighizuwa have the most upside of the defensive tackles on the roster. If both continue to improve, Dallas should be fine in the middle. If not, this will likely be an area addressed early in next year’s draft.
7. Tony Pollard, RB. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Pollard has a chance to make a lot of money with a big season. Ezekiel Elliott remains the team’s No. 1 back, but there should be plenty of opportunities for Pollard in a variety of ways. Losing pass-catchers like Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson and Blake Jarwin this offseason means there should be more targets available for Pollard. His touches have increased each of his three seasons in Dallas. Pollard had 86 carries and 15 receptions his rookie season, 101 carries and 28 receptions in 2020, and 130 carries and 39 receptions last year. There’s no reason to think those numbers shouldn’t continue to climb this season.
6. Terence Steele, RT. Steele took over the starting position last season, but it’s officially his now that La’el Collins is in Cincinnati. The coaching staff is confident that Steele, an undrafted free agent in 2020, can handle the job after starting 27 games over the previous two seasons. Dallas’ offensive line was a significant disappointment last season and faces even more questions this year. Steele playing well at right tackle would go a long way in getting this position group back to being a team strength.
5. Tyron Smith, LT. He hasn’t played a full season since 2015. He has missed 20 games because of injury over the past two seasons. The Cowboys drafted a player in the first round that they hope can be his eventual replacement at left tackle. But for now, Dallas needs Smith to not only stay healthy, but play like one of the better left tackles in the league. If he can do that, the Cowboys have the potential to get their offense looking similar to the first half of the 2021 season. If he can’t, there’s a good chance the offense looks like it did during the second half of the season.
4. Tyler Biadasz, C. Year 3 has to be a big one for the team’s starting center. Biadasz started every game last season. He’ll get competition from Matt Farniok and maybe undrafted free agent Alec Lindstrom during training camp, but the expectation is that Biadasz will remain the starter. The bottom line is the Cowboys just have to be better at center, especially considering that they’ll likely be starting a rookie at left guard in Tyler Smith.
CeeDee Lamb (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
3. CeeDee Lamb, WR. With Cooper gone, Lamb steps into the No. 1 wide receiver spot. He’s certainly talented enough to take on that job. The team’s first-round pick in 2020 saw his statistics improve in every area from Year 1 to Year 2. He led Dallas in targets (120), receptions (79) and receiving yards (1,102) last season. He was tied for third in receiving touchdowns with six. But now he’s the player that teams will be game-planning to take away. And with Michael Gallup possibly missing multiple games to start the season, Lamb will likely see a lot of double coverage. How will he respond? How will offensive coordinator Kellen Moore find ways to get him the ball?
2. Dak Prescott, QB. He played like an MVP candidate during the first six games last season, but things changed after the strained calf at New England. It obviously wasn’t all on the quarterback. The lack of an effective running game didn’t help. But Prescott has to play at an elite level if there is any hope of the Cowboys making a deep playoff run. Having a healthy offseason to be a full participant should help. Prescott is going to need it while working new wide receivers like James Washington and Jalen Tolbert into the offense.
1. Ezekiel Elliott, RB. He can’t fix the running game all by himself, but Elliott will probably be the biggest factor if they’re able to get things back on track. He clearly wasn’t himself after suffering a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Week 4. McCarthy said last week that he believes Elliott is back to 100 percent. It’s difficult to imagine the Cowboys winning enough games to make the playoffs and then winning multiple playoff games without Elliott playing at an elite level.
