It was no surprise that Dallas went all-in on their run defense in the 2023 NFL Draft. In their last three playoff games, the Cowboys gave up a combined 554 rushing yards— abysmal.
The addition of first-round pick Mazi Smith will undoubtedly help Dan Quinn and his squad stop the run.
But what remains uncertain is the offensive talent surrounding Dak Prescott.
In a recent interview with Sports Seriously, Emmitt Smith voiced concern that there’s a lot to be desired on the offensive side of the ball, specifically at the TE position, after losing Dalton Schultz during free-agency.
“We definitely need to upgrade at the tight-end position,” Smith said.
With the departure of Schultz, it’s the beginning of a new era with two rookies, Peyton Hendershot and Jake Ferguson, taking center stage.
Smith also believes that Dallas needs to beef up their offensive line.
“We definitely need to bring in some guys to show our guys up front, that are very good football players, but we need to have some backup just in case somebody goes down and we don’t miss a beat because when we go up against a team like Philadelphia and they’re bringing in that defense… we have to be able to hold up against that pressure.”
The Cowboys have plenty of stars up front, but have very questionable depth. This has been made all the more clear when year after year, they get bitten by the injury bug— and truly, an area that Dallas’ front office has to fix if they want to become a true Super Bowl contender.
Additionally, Smith shared that he thinks the Cowboys should bring Zeke Elliott back.
“I believe that with the uncertainty of Pollard being able to come back and be the Tony Pollard that we all know, that is yet to be seen.
No disrespect to Malik Davis, no disrespect to Deuce Vaughn. But Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis, and no Tony Pollard presents a major challenge for the Dallas Cowboys offense.”
It’s safe to assume that Emmitt’s concerns are shared widely amongst Cowboys nation. Now we wait, for what will most likely be another season that will leave us with even more ginormous question marks.
Watch more of Smith’s comments in the full conversation at the top of the page.