Dallas Cowboys training camp is almost underway in Oxnard, California, meaning football’s return is just a handful of Sundays away.
With a new campaign on the horizon, the Dallas Cowboys can begin to look forward after a historical meltdown in last season’s Wild Card game versus the Green Bay Packers.
After another season ending in playoff misery, Dallas headed into the 2024 offseason with glaring holes on both sides of the ball. In spurring the hopes of Cowboys fans around the country, owner Jerry Jones promised the team’s desire to improve the roster, preaching the motto of “all-in” in preparation for free agency.
Yet, his words carried little value when making financial decisions this offseason.
Instead, the Cowboys stayed quiet in free agency, signing several veteran players to one-year deals and retaining multiple depth pieces on the roster. While some new faces joined the roster, Dallas saw a handful of starters find new homes. Running back Tony Pollard took a long-term deal with the Tennessee Titans, while center Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorance Armstrong followed former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to Washington.
Another inactive offseason in Dallas emphasizes the need for improvement of the younger talent on the roster. As the Cowboys prepare for training camp in Oxnard, three position groups will have the most to prove heading into the 2024 season.
Interior Defensive Line
The departure of Quinn in the offseason allowed the Cowboys to take a new direction with former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer as defensive coordinator. Zimmer, who has coached in Dallas and Cincinnati, has defensive philosophies that begin with stopping the run and featuring seven players in the box.
The Cowboys’ rush defense has been a blockade to the team’s success over the last few years. Last year, the Cowboys ranked 27th in rush-stop win rate, successful 29% of the time. With the team’s inability to bring in reinforcements and the loss of a veteran nose tackle Jonathan Hankins to Seattle in the offseason, Dallas is relying on 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith, third-year Chancey Golston, and fourth-year Osa Odighizuwa to take giant leaps in 2024.
However, Smith and Golston’s production has been limited thus far, while Odighizuwa has shown glimpses of stopping the run. Smith’s start to his NFL career has been underwhelming, and he struggled to make an impact as a rookie. His 31.8 rush defense grade from Pro Football Focus ranked 96th out of 100 eligible defensive linemen.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Smith’s weight dropped to 290 pounds, a 35-pound drop from what he played for the Michigan Wolverines. Unfortunately, this hindered his ability to create leverage and play with physicality last season. However, Smith has worked to get back to his Michigan weight, and he is likely a mainstay of the Cowboys’ defensive line this year.
The glimmer of hope resides in Zimmer’s ability to teach the game to the young players and sharpen their technique in the run game, as he had done with past units. The Cowboys will need to get everything they can from the group, as Dallas faces five of the top 10 rush offenses from last year.
Linebackers
Following suit with the defensive line, the Cowboys’ linebacker unit comes into 2024 unproven.
While Dallas mostly kept quiet in free agency, the team’s most significant addition was signing former All-Pro middle linebacker Eric Kendricks. Kendricks’ addition reunites him with former head coach Zimmer and helps fill the hole of retired linebacker Leighton Vander-Esch. Yet, outside of Kendrick, the rest of the unit lacks much NFL experience, with third-year linebacker Damone Clark considered a veteran in the room.
Zimmer’s scheme requires high-IQ linebackers who can play sideline to sideline. While Kendricks had his All-Pro year under Zimmer in 2019, the 32-year-old is not the same player he was then. His coverage instincts and intelligence are still a plus, yet his lateral quickness has slowed down at his age. With the Chargers last season, Kendricks struggled to get off blocks, and his stiff hips affected his ability to tackle in open space, producing a mediocre 73.6 rush defensive grade.
Last year, the Cowboys’ linebacker unit ranked dead last in the NFL in success rate versus the run, putting the responsibility on rookies DeMarvion Overshown and Marist Laufiu to be impactful in their first seasons. Overshown suffered a torn ACL in the final preseason game last season, making the 2024 season his rookie campaign.
Laufiu and Overshown are both downhill wrecking-ball machines. However, they need more anticipation in pursuing gaps. In college, Overshown produced a high missed tackle rate over his three years at Texas, combining for 52 missed tackles in that span. Yet, he excelled at exploding off the snap and tracking down the runner quickly. At Notre Dame, Laufiu similarly excelled downhill but would overshoot gaps, opening clear paths for the running backs.
As a Cowboys linebacker, getting on the field this year will testify to the player’s high IQ and ability to stop the run. However, the bonus for the Cowboys’ linebacker unit is its players’ ability to play in coverage with good instincts.
Tight End
While defense wins championships, touchdowns win games. And for the Cowboys in 2024, the offensive weapons have shriveled. In a pivotal year for veteran quarterback Dak Prescott, the supporting cast around him must step up, especially in the tight end position.
Last year, the emergence of third-year tight end Jake Ferguson excited Cowboys fans about the Wisconsin product’s potential. His 761 yards on 71 catches plus five touchdowns finished second on the team and in the top 10 for tight ends. Yet, the Cowboys still need him to take another step this season.
Outside of Ferguson, the tight-end room doesn’t inspire confidence. Last year, backup tight ends Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot and Sean McKeon only combined for 12 catches on 24 targets. Schoonmaker, a 2023 second-round pick, was another underwhelming player from last year’s draft class, struggling to have any impact. In the offseason, he only took more steps back by missing OTAs with a hamstring injury and getting shoulder surgery earlier. For the pick to not be considered a bust, Schoonmaker will need to make significant strides in the passing and blocking game.
Additionally, Dallas made no effort to bring in receiving help this offseason, keeping the tight end and wide receiver units the same. Star receiver Ceedee Lamb cemented himself as a top-five receiver last season, catching a league-leading 135 passes for 1749 yards, which accounted for 37% of the Cowboys’ total receiving yards. Yet, the one-time first-team All-Pro can’t do it all himself.
Ferguson must be aggressive as a pass catcher with no backup support. The connection with Prescott and Ferguson has grown and will be critical to success in 2024.