Tag: 2023 position preview

2023 position preview: Cowboys offensive line is currently a collection of pieces

The Dallas Cowboys have an offensive line that brings versatility, but it’s a group that lacks depth behind it’s starters. | From @BenGrimaldi

Once upon a time, or two, the Dallas Cowboys had one of the best offensive lines in football. It’s a franchise that prides itself on having a great group up front and earning the moniker the Great Wall of Dallas. That nickname was forged in the 1990s, returned last decade and now it’s something the club is working on re-establishing for the 2023 season and beyond.

The way things look now though, Dallas’ line has talent and flexibility, but they haven’t locked down their roles enough to warrant such lofty praise.

The Cowboys showed they were dedicated to a return to greatness when they rebuilt the offensive line starting in 2011 with drafting tackle Tyron Smith. The reconstruction continued through the 2015 signing of undrafted free agent La’el Collins. Over those five years, the team added an All-Pro in Smith at LT, an All-Pro center in Travis Frederick, an All-Pro in right guard Zack Martin, and one of the best right tackles in the league in Collins. Along with guard Ronald Leary and right tackle Doug Free, the Cowboys housed one of the best offensive lines in the league for a handful of seasons.

Currently, the offensive line is in the middle of a another rebuild. Smith has been oft injured in the last three years and hasn’t played a full season since 2015, Frederick retired in 2020 and Collins was released last offseason after running afoul of the front office and staff. Martin, who returns for his 10th season, remains one of the best guards in the league and is the leader of the group.

The rest of the offensive line has most of the pieces, but where they all fit isn’t clear. Aside from Martin, the only position that appears to be set right now is center, where Tyler Biadasz resides. The fourth-year player from Wisconsin continues to improve and made his first Pro Bowl in 2022.

Where the Cowboys are still working things out are at the other three spots on the line. Smith restructured his contract to be paid according to his playing time, but where he plays hasn’t been determined yet. If the team wants to put last year’s rookie Tyler Smith at left tackle permanently, Tyron Smith might be headed to start at RT. That would mean Terence Steele, the 2022 starter at RT, might be relegated to the bench as the swing tackle.

That’s a lot of moving parts but the team has also spoken about experimenting with Steele inside at guard.

Moving Steele to LG and using him as the primary swing tackle seems a bit far-fetched, but no decisions have been made. Complicating matters is the torn ACL Steele suffered in December.

Reports are that he’s coming along well in his rehab, but perhaps the Cowboys are preparing to use Tyron Smith at RT in case Steele isn’t healthy enough to play at the start of the regular season. There’s time to sort it out.

As it currently stands, however, the best lineup combination for Dallas’ offensive line is Tyron Smith at LT, Tyler Smith at LG, Biadasz in the middle, Martin at RG and Steele at RT. That doesn’t mean that’s how it’ll look in September. There’s still a draft to come, where the Cowboys will be taking a long look at some of the offensive line options, especially on the interior. The best prospects include TCU’s Steve Avila, Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence, Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz, and Wisconsin’s Joe Tippmann.

If the Cowboys do select an offensive lineman early in the draft, expect the projected starting lineup to change. Picking a guard early would indicate the Cowboys are planning to use Tyler Smith at LT and Tyron Smith or Steele at RT. It might seem odd to move a future Hall of Fame LT to the right side while benching your emerging RT, but with the injuries that Tyron Smith has endured recently, the situation can always work itself out. Having three starting caliber tackles is a good problem to have.

Beyond the starting five, the Cowboys lack experienced depth. The team lost starting left guard Connor McGovern in free agency, which left a void inside. To address the problem, one of the first moves made this offseason was to sign offensive lineman Chuma Edoga. The versatile 25-year-old has experience at both tackle spots, as well at guard, so he can fill multiple roles in Dallas.

The only other option on the interior of the offensive line that has significant NFL experience is Matt Farniok. The three-year veteran has dressed for 19 games, starting two in 2022, but missed over half of last year with a torn hamstring. One-third of his 313 career snaps have come on special teams, but as a seventh-round pick in 2021, Farniok has turned into a valuable asset, with an ability to play guard or center.

Tthe Cowboys invested in two tackles over the last two drafts, yet neither has contributed much. Josh Ball was a fourth-round selection in 2021, but never saw action in his rookie year and played sparingly last season. Dallas had hoped Ball would make a leap in his second season, but he never looked comfortable.

Last year’s fifth-round pick, tackle Matt Waletzko, hurt his shoulder early in training camp, and it was an injury that lingered. The team placed Waletzko on IR in October and he never saw the field again. The Cowboys knew Waletzko needed some time to adjust after playing at North Dakota in college, so more is expected of him this year.

Beyond Edoga, Farniok, Ball and Waletzko, the Cowboys have Brock Hoffman and Alec Lindstrom as deeper bench pieces, but neither have played meaningful snaps in the NFL. Aside from Edoga, it’s a bench that hasn’t done much to inspire confidence. The group lacks both experience and quality should anything happen to a starting lineman.

Dallas has a versatile offensive line with players who can play more than one position, but they need a higher caliber of talent. Tyron Smith’s best days are behind him, and the team would be wise to find a solution at left guard, and make Tyler Smith the permanent LT to improve the unit overall.

The season is a long way off, but the Cowboys need to add talent and depth to their offensive line.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

2023 position preview: Cowboys turn to youth at TE

The Cowboys have potential in a young, athletic duo at tight end, and the draft could bring more depth at the position in 2023. | From @bengrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys were set at tight end for a very long time with future Hall of Famer, Jason Witten. It was a great 17-year run for the team, but when Witten retired, for the second time, the Cowboys were forced to find a replacement.

There wasn’t a perennial Pro Bowl answer, but the offense did find a solid option in tight end Dalton Schultz. Now that he’s no longer in the picture, the Cowboys are once again hitting the reset button on the position to feature youthful exuberance.

Selected in the fourth-round of the 2018 draft, Schultz took a few years to get going but wound up having three productive years with the Cowboys. His breakout 2021 season led to the team using their franchise tag which he played under for close to $11 million in 2022. Reports were the team had offered Schultz a three-year, $36 million deal at the time.

As a free agent this offseason, the Cowboys opted to not use the tag on their best TE, allowing Schultz test free agency.  Instead, the veteran TE signed with the Houston Texans for $9 million on a one-year deal.

Luckily, the organization prepared for this scenario last offseason. The Cowboys used a fourth-round pick on a TE in the 2022 draft, like they did on Schultz in 2018, selecting Jake Ferguson of Wisconsin.

The team didn’t stop there, they also signed Peyton Hendershot out of Indiana as an undrafted free agent after last year’s draft. Hendershot’s film had a draftable grade, but other issues caused teams to pass on him.

Dallas used last season as a bridge year to go from Schultz to Ferguson, and possibly Hendershot. The rookie TEs got to learn and play behind Schultz to prepare to take over if the veteran out of Stanford didn’t return. The team covered themselves in case the inevitable happened this offseason, which it did.

Now that Schultz is gone, the Cowboys have replacements ready in Ferguson and Hendershot. The duo played quality snaps in their rookie years, produced, and appear ready for the next step in their sophomore campaigns. The question is, can second-year TEs match Schultz’s production?

Schultz may not have had the athletic upside of Ferguson or Hendershot, but he was a security blanket for quarterback Dak Prescott and worked himself into a top option in Dallas’ passing game. The offense needs one, or both, of the young TEs to emerge as the same.

The potential is there. The new dynamic duo at tight end combined for 30 catches, 277 yards and four scores last year. When injuries forced Schultz out of the lineup for two games and rendered him ineffective in a handful of others, Ferguson and Hendershot stepped up.

Hendershot had his two best games when Schultz was out, which included season-highs in catches (3) and 43 yards in Week 3 against the New York Giants. Those two games resulted in over half of Hendershot’s yards on the season and almost half of his receptions.

Ferguson had a career-high in targets and catches in Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles, a game in which he scored one of his two touchdowns on the season. But it was on Thanksgiving where Ferguson had his ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment, showcasing his athletic ability.

The Cowboys are in capable hands at TE moving forward with Ferguson and Hendershot. The team also has fourth-year tight end Sean McKeon, who holds value as depth and plays a role on special teams.

Those are the only three tight ends currently on their roster who have an NFL catch. The Cowboys can look to the draft to bolster the position as well, as gurus believe this is one of the best TE classes in a long time. There is both quality and quantity to be had, so there will be ample opportunity to upgrade or supplement what the team has in Ferguson and Hendershot.

The top options at TE include Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, Georgia’s Darnell Washington, Oregon St.’s Luke Musgrave and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta. If the Cowboys don’t select one early, the middle rounds could offer Old Dominion’s Zach Kuntz or Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, among other prospects.

Losing Schultz is a blow to the passing game, however the Cowboys have two young options to help soften the fall and can add to a blossoming group in the draft.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi

Cowboys 2023 position review: There’s Prescott then questions

The Dallas Cowboys are in good shape with Dak Prescott as their starting quarterback in 2023, but only unknowns sit behind him. | From @BenGrimaldi

Part of that process of moving forward from a premature season’s ending is analyzing each position and seeing where the team stands. At the game’s most important position, quarterback, the Dallas Cowboys are in great shape with Dak Prescott. The seven-year veteran signal caller is the unquestioned leader; in the locker room, on and off the field, it’s Prescott who is the face of the franchise.

Looking back at the 2022 season, it wasn’t one of Prescott’s cleanest performances. After being hurt with a fractured thumb in Week 1 and missing five games, Prescott managed to start in 12 games on the year. Unfortunately, that was enough for him to tie for lead the league in interceptions with 15. That number is skewed because of the drops or miscommunications that resulted in an inflated interception total, but Prescott did make several atypical poor decisions that were the biggest takeaway when looking at the position moving forward.

The interceptions were also a career high for Prescott, who had never thrown more than 13 in a season. After throwing for a Cowboys record 37 touchdown passes in 2021, it was a disappointing to watch the offense and Prescott struggle to be in sync.

However, the issues in the passing game could be attributed to the organizations handling of the wide receiver position last offseason. Aside from All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb, the offense didn’t have a reliable threat to help Prescott when the Cowboys had to throw the ball. That was a big part of Prescott’s story last season, and the team shouldn’t go down the same path again in the upcoming campaign.

Aside from a few errant throws, though, Prescott still ranks among the league’s best quarterbacks. He threw for 23 touchdowns while leading the Cowboys to the fourth-highest scoring offense at 27.5 points a game and the league’s fifth-best third-down conversion rate at 45.5%.

Those are impressive numbers when remembering that backup QB Cooper Rush couldn’t help Dallas put more than 25 points up in any of his five starts and had just a 35% conversion rate on third down. With Prescott, the Cowboys scored over 28 points in seven of their 11 games, hitting the 40-point mark four times.

Prescott was often asked to bail the Cowboys out on 3rd-and-long conversions, which was part of their offensive success. The 52-yard gain on 3rd-and-30 to receiver T.Y. Hilton was an example of Prescott’s clutch play on the money down.

The Cowboys are in good shape with Prescott as their QB, he gives them a chance to win every week. Even with his contract still having two years left on it, the organization should look to extend Prescott, something that has been discussed by both Jerry and Stephen Jones since the season ended.

With Prescott’s $49 million cap hit, an extension could reduce his cost this season allowing cap flexibility and keeping the franchise QB in Dallas past two more years. If the team waits until next season, or after 2024, they’ll be in jeopardy of paying much more than they are comfortable doling out.

Bringing Rush back would be a solid option since he did go 4-1 when called upon and the organization seems comfortable with the veteran backup. Rush proved he could play smart football and help the team win games if Prescott is forced out of the lineup. The question is whether his stint as a starter will price him out of Dallas’ range.

If so, third-string QB Will Grier showed some good things last preseason and has a year remaining on his contract. The Cowboys have talked about drafting a quarterback in April.

Prescott is a top-tier player and his status is cemented as the starter for 2023. Rush should have other options this offseason after playing well, but he’s played five seasons in Dallas, so it’s not a given he doesn’t return.

Expect the Cowboys to sign a low-priced veteran QB, or re-sign Rush, while drafting a young option. Make no mistake, though, Prescott is the QB of the now, and the future for the Cowboys. Everything else falls in line after Prescott.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.