Did The Dallas Cowboys Improve Their Roster? A Look Behind The Numbers
So the Cowboys add another Offensive Tackle to the roster a week before the season starts, and Cowboys Nation exhale long and hard from relief as the front office finally ink in Peters to the 53 man roster. The O-Line now has a little more depth we all prayed Jerry and crew would so desperately organise. And sure the Offensive line took a hit this year from losing a couple of guys to FA and injury, but it also got some help from the Draft, and a little from FA, as well as some development from some down roster guys. But in general how has the roster by position improved or declined from last years team? Well let’s take a look at each position and give it score from -10 as a terrible decline, all the way up to +10 as a massive positive improvement, with 0 being neither good or bad and a level score to last year. We will give the reasons why, but have a go yourself and give us your scores for each position and post it in the comments. QB +2 Yes an improvement! And it’s not so much looking at the backup QB to help this number. This score is based on Dak. Firstly Dak looks good so far. Camp and preseason he was on form, connecting well with receivers, did some scrambling and rushing, which is always good to see him return back to. But also another positive is he’s completely healthy.
Dak enters the regular season with zero health concerns or any need to rehab or be on a pitch count like last year. We would of liked to of seen Dak in some preseason action, but the coaches felt the risk too high and need too low. If we had seen him in action that may of pushed the improvement score higher, so a plus 2 for the QB position is well agreed.
(RB +2) Both Zeke and Pollard are healthy, both looked good in the off-season. Talk from the coaching staff say some 20 or 21 man personnel is on the cards which is great for both Zeke and Pollard. And the addition of Rico Dowdle, who could of made the final 53 man roster last year, as well as the emergence of Malik Davis and the adding of Qadree Ollison to the practice squad, all ensures the RB position has both talent and depth. So a slight improvement from last year with a plus 2 for the RB room.
(WR -2) Firstly the loss of Cooper gets the position a loss. Sure they added rookie Jalen Tolbert to the mix and CeeDee Lamb will now take on the primary receiver role, which isn’t a bad thing. But add in the loss of Cedrick Wilson as well as Michael Gallup starting the season injured, it’s safe to say that to start the season the WR Corp has taken a decline. Now of course this figure will go up as rookies develop in season, Gallup comes back to the starting lineup, and other players get more comfortable in their roles as things continue. But right to start the season the WR is at minus 2.
(TE +2) From how the TE room ended it’s season in 2021, to how that room looks to start in 2022, it’s a slight improvement. Schultz is another year in and has shown a good sample size of his skills and what he can provide in offensive production, and with the receiver issues to start the season expect a heavy workload for the Stanford product.
Rookie Jake Ferguson had a great preseason and is developing nicely for his first year, Hendershot hasn’t had a bad start either, although it’s clear he still needs to increase his focus and awareness on the field, but in time we feel he will be a good reliable passing option if he keeps trending the way he started. Of course the TE room lost Jarwin as well as blocking option Jeremy Sprinkle. But they also got to retain Sean McKeon to the practice squad. An increase if only small for the Tight Ends this with a plus 2.
(OFFENSIVE LINE -5) Yea….we knew this part was coming. So the Cowboys lose LT Tyron Smith to injury, by the looks for the season. They lose Connor Williams and La’el Collins in the off-season with a confusing plan to replace them. Terence Steele is the firm replacement for Collins and has spent the preseason fully working as the starter, so we are hoping his progression ladder keeps heading the way it did from year 1 to year 2, which gave the coaches confidence in the permanent RT change in year 3. They did add to the line in the 1st and 5th rounds of the Draft with bruiser Tyler Smith and big guy Matt Waletzko (who currently nurses shoulder issues), and they will add both starting snaps and depth assistance, along with developmental players Josh Ball and Matt Farniok for the Offensive Line in desperate need of some. And also at the time of writing this they also add aged veteran and 9 time Pro Bowl winning Offensive Tackle Jason Peters. He will add depth as the Cowboys place Peters on the practice squad as he conditions and learns the offence, before maybe even getting starting snaps if all else fails on the line. The biggest issue though for the OLine is the lack of continuity and cohesion. The starting offensive line that will face the Buccaneers this week would of spent vary little time working together, and for the line the most important part is team work. So this right now is the biggest concern, making the Offensive Line one of the biggest declines of the roster positions from last year.
(DE+3) Tank looks leaner, lighter, stronger and most importantly- HEALTHY! This is a massive plus for the Edge position, and Lawrence has looked good all preseason. And with him losing weight that will only help him maintain pace during games along with his health this season. Dorance Armstrong looks to start 2022 where he left off in 2021 with 37 tackles and 5 sacks on 56% of the Defensive snaps. They add a wildcard pass rusher in Dante Fowler Jr, who is maybe the most polarising addition to the defence. On one hand his injuries may catch back up on Fowler and we see much the same of the last couple years. Or could they catch the old flame that once had the Gator defender go 1st overall in the NFL Draft? We hope the second option! Then they add Sam Williams who has started to turn it on in practices and preseason, and he could very well be the next guy up if he continues on his trajectory. But either way the Rebel player is looking fantastic lately. They keep Tarell Basham and 2nd year player Chauncey Golston, which looks exciting to see what pressure they can put up front this season. And Carlos Watkins of course will prepare and wait on the practice squad when needed. The DE position has had a very nice positive improvement this season.
(DT +5) Osa had a good year till he hit the rookie wall, Neville Gallimore looked better with each game as he came back from injury, but good news. Gallimore is healthy and looks leaner but at the same time more built, Osa has had time to ready himself for a full season in the NFL and looks good and ready. That makes both a positive improvement for the DLine. Trysten Hill in his contract year spent the preseason garnering all the praises, which has been well deserved. Hill has been on form, and doing everything not only right, but consistently, hopefully this is replicated into the regular season. Quinton Bohanna has quietly been getting it done to, how he’s utilised will be interesting to see. And then even John Ridgeway has flashed this off-season and looks to provide snaps in rotation when needed. A good improvement on the Defensive Line. LB +5 LVE is healthy and has looked much improved. Jabril Cox is healthy and ready to rock (maybe one player from last year I’m looking forward to seeing the most). Micah “The Lion” Parsons is most definitely hungry and has spent much of preseason messing practice play up by constantly tapping Dak on the helmet to call the sack. And last week he talked to the media stating “I want to be the NFL’s best player” and “I want to be feared”, statements we fully enjoy and believe coming true. Then of course they add Anthony Barr. A player 99.9% of Cowboys Nation were calling out for. Barr further more entrenches the defences ability to hold both against the run and the pass. Sure he’s not what he once was, but we can be sure Dan Quinn will squeeze every last drop of football out of the UCLA Linebacker. For now Damone Clark remains sidelined on NFI with his list of college injuries, but if we get the LSU high flyer into the mix, this Linebacker corp just went from high 80 to light speed and keeps the arrow on the position pointing up, up and up!
(CB +7) We live in a confusing and crazy world right now. As a Cowboys fan, nothing is more crazy than saying we have talent and depth at the Defensive Back position. Yes it’s true! The Cornerback position this year, and as you will see next with the Safeties, has taken the steepest rise in improvement. First let’s look at Diggs. He’s looked faster, more agile, and most importantly he’s looked more aware. Maybe the Interceptions come down this year, but so will the yards allowed. Diggs just looks like he’s ready to matchup against any teams WR1 and keep the ball away, there’s the first improvement. Next is Anthony Brown, who we call this years Training Camp MVP. Last year he did a great job, and this year having spent more time with the coaches, more time with the 1’s and more time in the film room, Brown could be a huge surprise for the defence this year. Jourdan Lewis, who spent camp injured with a hamstring is maybe one of best Slot Corners in the NFL. He looks ready to provide assistance in the backfield, lock the slot down, and let’s not forget, we’ve seen him Blitz and sack QB’s with great effectiveness in the past from the slot. Then of course there’s DaRon Bland. No player has risen as fast up the depth chart this year than Bland. During practices and preseason games Bland has been the stand out rookie that keeps shining and getting better. Now it’s time to prove it when it matters most. Then of course you have Kelvin Joseph and Nashon Wright that look to develop and hold the position when needed. And not forgetting both players helped Special Teams last year also. The CB improvement this year has been phenomenal and exciting to watch. Safety +6 So much depth…and we’re talking Safety…as a Cowboy! Malik Hooker enters the season healthy for the first time in forever, that’s a massive plus for the position. Jayron Kearse looks to lead the backfield after a breakout performance last year, and has continued on during camp and preseason. Donovan Wilson helps to keep it locked in providing depth. Then we watch Israel Mukuamu dominate this preseason with consecutive Interceptions, violent tackles, and general smart heads up plays. We wrote about Mukuamu back when he got drafted, and we’re fully delighted to see him turning it on. Then of course another player we talked at great length about both pre and post draft this year is Markquese Bell. The UDFA out of Florida A&M is an intriguing addition and one we were glad the Cowboys made. With some more coaching and field work, the Rattler standout is just the player the Cowboys need to continue the conveyor belt of solid Safety talent the front office has started to fold into its team dynamics. And with the other safeties on the practice squad in Tyler Coyle and Juanyeh Thomas, the safety spot is looking very bright.
(SPECIAL TEAMS -2) Ok so let’s start. No kicker. Pretty big deal. And if you say we start the season by taking Brett Maher off the practice squad (which is where the coaching staff think he belongs) then things are desperate. The PK position has been very much over looked, and to be honest, taken this off-season to an odd approach. Kicking practice at the start of off-season training was for and reason left out, then later in Camp put into panic mode, only to find out we have no kicker. So it’s safe to say PK is a pretty big problem, as it was before off-season even began mind. Bryan Anger and Jake McQuaide continue to keep their end of the bargain held down on ST duties. And apart from the Cowboys keeping special teams ace CJ Goodwin and finding a return specialist diamond in KaVontae Turpin, the ST arrow is at a downward direction right now. Will the Cowboys add a kicker to the team before kickoff? Maybe. Or will this be something that could be spun into a positive? Like instead of going for a 37 yard Field Goal, because the coaching staff have an understanding and expectation of that kick to possibly miss, they instead opt to go for it on 4th Down and get Zeke to plow 3 yards and keep the drive alive? Or maybe that’s pure optimism at this stage. ST needs something at kicker though and that keeps this score down from last year.
(Author Mike Poland)