In terms of their roster, the Dallas Cowboys are in a worse position than they were one year ago when they kicked off training camp in Oxnard, California. This is a statement that can be said with complete justification. They no longer have Amari Cooper or La’el Collins on their roster, and they allowed defensive end Randy Gregory to go with the Denver Broncos in free agency, so those three starters are no longer a part of their 2022 equation. Due to the fact that Dallas released tight end Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz is now the clear-cut TE1 for the Cowboys. However, whether or not this status will last for a significant amount of time is uncertain given that the Cowboys are unwilling to accede to his contractual demands and would rather see him play under the franchise tag.
Dak Prescott is reporting that he is in great shape, which is wonderful news since it means that doubts about his health will not be in the headlines this year. However, he is now leading an offence that has a lot of issues to answer both at the skill positions and in the trenches. However, as was pointed out with the departure of Gregory, there are wrinkles to be ironed out on that side of the ball as well if Quinn is to replicate the runaway success he had in Year 1 with the organisation. Defensively, the Cowboys are all smiles after convincing Dan Quinn to stay put on a new deal.
When the Cowboys start their training camp this summer, which matchups are going to be the most important for you to focus on?
When it comes down to it, the answer that is most accurate is “C. All of the above,” but there are at least three position fights that have a chance to steal the show when the pads begin to collide in Southern California.
It is the position that has garnered the most attention throughout this summer, primarily due to the fact that it did not need to. That is to say that the Cowboys created a need at WR by trading four-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns, and then losing the wager that Cedrick Wilson would return in free agency (he’s now with the Miami Dolphins). This resulted in the Cowboys not having a receiver on their roster who was capable of playing wide receiver. CeeDee Lamb, a former first-round pick, was thrust into the role of No. 1 wide receiver almost immediately after the two losses, and while he claims that he is prepared, we are all about to find out if that is truly the case — particularly at the beginning of the season when taking into account the likelihood that Michael Gallup (ACL) will be sidelined in early to middle September. Suddenly, a wide receiver room that was brimming with potential must suddenly figure out who will be the team’s WR2 for the game on September 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in addition to the rest of the rotation.
Is it possible that 2017 is going to be Simi Fehoko’s breakout year? Or perhaps Jalen Tolbert, a rookie who was selected in the third round, will steal the show. James Washington, who is joining Dallas on a prove-it deal and has a lot of potential to push for a big role in the offence, while annual incumbent Noah Brown is no stranger to surviving roster cuts in August, etc., is another factor to consider.
The competition for the wide receiver position is easily the most exciting of all of them for the Cowboys, so keep your eyes glued to it.
Due to the fact that Dalton Schultz was unable to persuade the Cowboys to match his contractual demands during this offseason, he will report to training camp ready to play under a signed franchise tag, which will pay him $10.931 million for the upcoming season. The tag, on the other hand, has an additional effect, which is that it immediately creates rivalry not only for the role of TE2 for 2022, but also for the throne of TE1 going into 2023. The Cowboys were in a bit of a desperate situation when Schultz was given the franchise tag in March due to the events that had transpired with former starting tight end Blake Jarwin, who has since been let go after undergoing an unusual surgical procedure. Despite this, the Cowboys went on to use a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Jake Ferguson.
Ferguson possesses the skill set necessary to potentially replace Schultz in the future, and rising upstart Sean McKeon was nearly ready to make an impact in 2021 before struggling with injury. Additionally, it would behove many people to keep a watch on undrafted rookie Peyton Hendershot (a record-setting TE from Indiana). Taking everything into consideration, now that McKeon is healthy and the Cowboys have shown that they can turn a fourth-round pick into an NFL starter (for example, Schultz), the veteran can’t rest on his laurels; he needs a multi-year contract and the assurance that the job of TE1 will still be his after 2022.
The battle for the company’s future will get underway in Dallas on July 26.
It’s possible that Micah Parsons is already the best linebacker in the league, and that’s after only one season, but while that’s debatable, it’s not debatable that there isn’t anyone else in the linebacker room who is free of question marks heading into training camp. Micah Parsons might be the best linebacker in the league already, and after only one season. The Jaylon Smith experiment is now over, and it took a very good performance in the 2021 season for Jaylon Smith to avoid suffering the same fate as Jaylon Smith: re-signing in Dallas on a one-year deal that provides the team with some insurance but also pits Jaylon Smith against some new and returning talent. After suffering a ruptured ACL that prematurely ruined what may have been a promising start to his NFL career, the team’s 2021 fourth-round pick Jabril Cox is back in the mix, and he is going to be heavily relied upon to become an impact player alongside Parsons.
They have also added Damone Clark, Cox’s former teammate at LSU (hint), in this year’s draught as a fifth-rounder, Devin Harper (Oklahoma State) as a sixth-rounder, and then quickly grabbed three (!!) undrafted linebackers — Aaron Hansford (Texas A&M), Mike Tafua (Utah), and Storey Jackson (Utah) — before signing former Longhorn and Dallas-area native Ma The Cowboys currently have 10 healthy linebackers on their roster thanks to the addition of Luke Gifford, who is signed to a one-year deal. However, only Parsons is a sure certainty to make the team.
This competition is an utter free-for-all because the other nine linebackers have a lot to show, and that’s why it’s so exciting.