There’s no doubt plenty of reasons to be excited to be a Cowboys fan entering the 2020 season. During the offseason, they revamped the coaching staff after parting ways with Jason Garrett, added key veterans during free agency, and had an excellent draft in April.
Just recently, Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report ranked the seven best teams set up for the future heading into the new season, and the Cowboys came in at No. 4. Dallas ranked second in the NFC behind the San Francisco 49ers. The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens held down the top two spots respectively.
It isn’t hard to see why the Cowboys landed on this list when examining their moves over the last several months.It started with the signing of former All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy who spent 2019 with the Carolina Panthers, and will now take over duties at the 3-tech as an upgrade over the departed Maliek Collins. His teammate from a year ago, Dontari Poe, would join shortly after to play alongside him at the 1-tech. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, a savvy veteran safety who played his best ball under new Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy in Green Bay, was added as an upgrade to Jeff Heath who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.
They also added former All-Pro defensive end Aldon Smith, who was just recently conditionally reinstated after a five-year hiatus.
In the draft, the Cowboys saw a massive infusion of promising young talent. It all started with the selection of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb at 17, who along with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, give the Cowboys one of the most dangerous receiving cores in the league.
In the second round, Trevon Diggs was taken at No. 51, a long and physical corner with excellent ball skills who could be CB1 in 2020.
In the third round, they added defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, a 300-pound wrecking ball that will add depth to the Cowboys interior pass rush playing both the 1-tech and 3-tech.
The fourth round saw the Cowboys double up on young soldiers.
First, they took another ball-hawking corner in Reggie Robinson, who will be in the mix with for playing time early. Also, they took center Tyler Biadasz out of Wisconsin who can compete with Joe Looney and Connor McGovern to take over starting duties with the retirement of Travis Fredrick.
In the fifth round, the Cowboys may have gotten their best value for any draft pick by selecting edge rusher Bradlee Anae, and two-time first-team All-Pac-12 performer out of Utah. A technician with a history of violent tackles, Anae will be heavy in the mix for playing time opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.
Finally, in the seventh round, the Cowboys added more competition to the backup quarterback role by taking Ben DiNucci out of James Madison. As people start to take in DiNucci’s film, more and more are becoming intrigued at his ceiling.
his ball location of the games I am charting is A to A+ stuff. Lots of underneath and quick game, but talk about ball on between the numbers over and over again.
— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) June 13, 2020
Of course, all of this new talent is being added to a roster that was already loaded.
Quarterback Dak Prescott is coming off a career season with 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott finished fourth in rushing, second in all-purpose yards, and tied for first in 100-yard games for all running backs last season. Amari Cooper set career highs in yards (1,189), touchdowns (8), and yards per catch (15.1) a year ago. Zack Martin and Tyron Smith each made the Pro Bowl and La’el Collins was snubbed, grading out as one of the best right tackles in the league in 2019.
That takes care of the offense, but defensively, the Cowboys aren’t too shabby either. DeMarcus Lawrence, despite his sack numbers taking a dip, was one of the better edge rushers in the league last season. Linebacker Jaylon Smith took a step back last year but did manage to finish tied for sixth in the league with 142 tackles. Alongside him will be Leighton Vander Esch, who’s fully recovered from neck surgery, and Sean Lee, who filled in nicely for Vander Esch and registered also 90 tackles last season.
The secondary is the weakness of the roster, as there hasn’t been anyone who has already proven greatness. Xavier Woods will move to strong safety with the addition of Clinton-Dix. The rest, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown, will all battle it out for snaps and a future with the club.
Back to the defensive line, Randy Gregory will more than likely be reinstated with the new CBA no longer punishing players for positive marijuana tests.
The Cowboys are young and talented and could very well be good for the foreseeable future.
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