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By Jon Machota
5h ago
Five weeks from now the Cowboys will be at training camp in Oxnard, Calif. They are expected to land in Southern California around July 24. Actual practices in full pads won’t occur for at least a few more days. At that time, we will begin to break down some of the most interesting position battles.
It’s difficult to put too much stock into those areas while evaluating organized team activities and minicamp, both of which included no pads and the limited use of helmets.
Things can change in the next few weeks, but at the moment, these are the six areas I’m most interested in assessing.
1. Left guard
If the entire offensive line group is healthy entering Week 1, I believe the starters will be Tyron Smith at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Zack Martin at right guard and Terence Steele at right tackle. If Tyron Smith or Steele isn’t healthy, the healthy one of the two will likely be at right tackle and Tyler Smith will be at left tackle. If both are out, Matt Waletzko would be the favorite to start at right tackle. In those scenarios where Tyler Smith is needed at left tackle, left guard would be a position looking for a starter. Training camp should be a great time to evaluate the options at that position. The Cowboys understand the importance of filling that spot. After all, they considered drafting a guard with their first-round pick. That left guard competition will include Chuma Edoga, whom Dallas signed in free agency, Matt Farniok, Josh Ball and probably undrafted rookie free agent T.J. Bass. Fifth-round pick Asim Richards, a tackle in college, could also see some work at left guard.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy often mentions the correlation between a healthy offensive line and a team’s overall success. He hasn’t had that benefit much during his previous three seasons in Dallas. If its best five can stay healthy, this position group won’t be a concern. But it seems highly unlikely that the entire group will avoid any setbacks during a 17-game season. Contingency plans must be made, and training camp will be a good time to evaluate the possibilities.
2. Backup running back
Tony Pollard is the obvious starter. Competition at this spot could be added if no one emerges during training camp and the preseason. But as things stand, the group behind Pollard includes Malik Davis, Ronald Jones, Deuce Vaughn, Rico Dowdle and undrafted rookie fullback Hunter Luepke. It’s unlikely Dallas will keep more than four at the position. The favorites for those spots are Pollard, Davis, Jones and Vaughn. Jones has the most experience, playing in 61 career games with 25 starts over the past five seasons with the Chiefs and Buccaneers. Davis has the most touches with the Cowboys, carrying 38 times for 161 yards and a touchdown last season as Dallas’ No. 3 back.
Ezekiel Elliott carried the ball 231 times last season. Pollard carried 193 times. Though Pollard will get more work, plenty of rushing attempts are available. Who will get the bulk of those behind Pollard? The favorite right now is Davis, but maybe Vaughn will pick up right where he left off at Kansas State and emerge as a sixth-round steal. Training camp practices and preseason games will go a long way in sorting this out.
3. Final wide receiver spot
Will the Cowboys end up keeping five or six wide receivers on their 53-man roster? My prediction is six, with kick/punt returner KaVontae Turpin taking up one spot even though he might not be one of the team’s top four or five most productive perimeter pass catchers. CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup are locked into the three starting spots. Next up entering camp will be Jalen Tolbert and Simi Fehoko. Those are the favorites if the Cowboys keep six. But like Dennis Houston (6 feet 1, 202 pounds) last year, wide receivers emerge during camp practices.
Who might that be this year? Maybe it’s Houston again or another undrafted player from last year like Dontario Drummond (6-1, 212). Maybe it’s seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks (6-2, 205). Maybe it’s an undrafted rookie like Jose Barbon (6-0, 185), Jalen Moreno-Cropper (6-0, 180) or David Durden (6-2, 200).
https://theathletic.com/4579835/2023/06/05/cowboys-jalen-tolbert-receiver/
4. Final defensive line spot
This is one of the deepest position groups on the team. The top 10 spots belong to DE/LB Micah Parsons, DE DeMarcus Lawrence, DE Sam Williams, DE Dorance Armstrong Jr., DE Dante Fowler Jr., DT Mazi Smith, DT Osa Odighizuwa, DT Johnathan Hankins, DL Viliami Fehoko Jr. and DL Chauncey Golston. Could the Cowboys keep 11? Sure. The others on the roster are DT Neville Gallimore, DT Quinton Bohanna, DE Tyrus Wheat, DE Durrell Johnson and DT Isaac Alarcon.
Going with 10 here seems like a decent bet. Can one of the other five outplay one of the top 10 entering camp? We will see. It’s also an area where perhaps the Cowboys could try to trade a player to get something in return before final roster cuts.
5. Backup linebacker
The starting linebackers are expected to be Leighton Vander Esch and Damone Clark. At least two others need to emerge as quality backups. Next up are Jabril Cox, third-round pick DeMarvion Overshown and Devin Harper. Those five seem like a good bet to make the 53-man roster. The Cowboys are excited about Overshown’s potential. They think Cox will be better in his second season removed from the significant knee injury he suffered during his rookie year. But this could be an area where the Cowboys are too thin. If needed, a potential veteran addition could make sense, like last year when Anthony Barr was signed during training camp. Barr is no longer around, and Dallas would love for some of its younger options to emerge.
https://theathletic.com/4595437/2023/06/09/cowboys-offseason-takeaways/
6. No. 1 tight end
Several tight ends will play, but who will take over that top spot that had been held by Dalton Schultz for the past three years? Jake Ferguson, a fourth-round pick last year, is the favorite. Second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker would be next up, then last year’s undrafted rookie, Peyton Hendershot. All three should see a lot of opportunities in the passing game. Schultz, Ferguson, Hendershot and Sean McKeon, who also has a good chance of making the team, were targeted 130 times last season. That’s the same number of times the Cowboys targeted their tight end group in 2021. Schultz represented 89 of those targets last season and 104 in 2021, so there are plenty of opportunities to go around.
Schoonmaker will be the most interesting to monitor early in camp after he was limited during OTAs and minicamp with a foot issue. As long as injuries don’t hold him back, the Cowboys are expecting Schoonmaker to make a quick transition from college to the pros. He never caught more than 35 passes in a season at Michigan, but Schultz never caught more than 23 passes at Stanford. Schultz went on to average 66 catches per season over the past three years after having only 13 catches during his first two seasons in Dallas.
