Connor McGovern has the athleticism to demand a spot in Cowboys 2020 OL

Connor McGovern enters his second season with the Cowboys healthy and ready to compete for not one but two positions on the offensive line.

For quite some time the offensive line has been listed as one of the Dallas Cowboys’ biggest strengths. Even with the retirement of former All-Pro center Travis Frederick announced abruptly in March, this is still the case entering 2020.

The Cowboys have built depth over the last few years to prepare for extreme situations like this, or any catastrophic injuries.

Following losing Frederick to Guillaine-Barre syndrome for the entire 2018 season, the Cowboys drafted Connor McGovern in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the No. 90 overall pick. The Penn State product was highly spoken of due to his ability to play both guard and center and his intriguing athletic ability.

In his final season at Penn State, the junior started 13 games (12 at guard, one at center) and only allowed 15 quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus. As a sophomore he started at center. McGovern spent time protecting the QB and blocking for the No. 2 overall selection of the same draft, Saquon Barkley.

Collegiate Athleticism, will it translate?

McGovern stands out as an elite athlete testing with a 112 inch broad jump (90 percentile) and 20-yard shuttle at 4.57 seconds (81 percentile). According to his Relative Athletic Score, which combines a player’s traits and athleticism into a single composite score, McGovern tested out among the best offensive linemen in the class.

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Bringing McGovern into the fold added additional pressure to guard Connor Williams, drafted the year prior in the second round.

The plans for McGovern quickly changed just months after being drafted though. During the preseason McGovern suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle. After rehabbing for a short time he tried to rush back to compete with Williams but was quickly sidelined with the same injury but more severe. This ended McGovern’s rookie season as he was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

2020 Forecast

So where does this leave McGovern with the 2020 Cowboys? With the departure of Frederick, McGovern is in a pretty decent situation to earn himself a significant role.

Plenty of signs have pointed to Joe Looney to take over the duties as the team’s starting center, considering he replaced Frederick when he had to miss 2018. The spot is not guaranteed and given McGovern’s college experience at playing center, it gives him a shot to compete for this along side rookie 2020 draft pick Tyler Biadasz.

Right guard Zack Martin is one of the best guards in the entire league so that spot is filled however on the left side the Cowboys might have some decisions to make. Williams has yet to do anything to turn any heads or raise any eyebrows so McGovern once again could be in line for some friendly competition to see the field as a starter in 2020.

The versatility to play both center and guard alone gives Connor McGovern a very good chance to compete to become a known face on an already notable Cowboys offensive line. Add one year of learning from the sidelines and being in good health has McGovern primed to make his sophomore season one to remember and one to remind the Cowboys why they selected him in the first place.

This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. Up next is OL Mitch Hyatt.

| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
| Neville Gallimore | Terence Steele | Joe Looney | La’el Collins |
| Zack Martin | Brandon Knight | Ron’Dell Carter | Wyatt Miller |

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