Blogging The Boys
Are the Cowboys a deeper and better team on offense going into the season?
The Dallas Cowboys have used all possible avenues of player acquisition in an effort to improve their roster for first year head coach Brian Schottenheimer this offseason. They’ve made trades, meaningfully participated for the first time in two seasons in the free agent market, and, of course, were part of the draft. The team’s reputation as a strong drafting organization has mostly been upheld by just that in recent seasons though, past reputation and not the reality of the current situation.
The list of things the Cowboys will have to overcome in 2025 to improve on their 7-10 record a year ago is quite long, but squarely at the top is having better injury luck with star players, and better depth across the roster to deal with other injuries that occur.
The combination of the Cowboys not hitting on as many draft picks in recent seasons, and not being nearly as open to trades and free agency as they’ve shown this offseason, has led to the bottleneck effect of Dallas having top-heavy rosters that can’t stand the attrition of a long season. The lack of activity prior to the draft leads to rookies that can get on the field being put in less than ideal situations, being asked to do too much without other supporting players around them, and this cycle continued. The Cowboys will be hoping their major shakeup to the coaching staff at nearly every spot from HC, both coordinators, and position coaches, as well as more in depth overhaul of the roster, can help break this cycle that ultimately doomed the final season of Mike McCarthy’s tenure.
The Cowboys couldn’t even keep their stars healthy, like Dak Prescott or Trevon Diggs, and that helped the team slip to third in the division as well. The Cowboys have kept some things the same though, and their feelings towards the draft being the lifeblood of roster building aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. This April’s class of nine rookies will still be expected to contribute, but monitoring the situations they are put in alongside other veterans and new acquisitions will be vital in putting Coach Schottenheimer’s new emphasis on culture to the ultimate test.
Four of the Cowboys nine picks went to the offensive side of the ball, including their first-round selection with Alabama’s Tyler Booker at 12th overall. Somewhat surprisingly after this, the Cowboys waited until the fifth round to draft offense again, adding one of two running backs in Jaydon Blue out of Texas. They double dipped at offensive line, but came away without any rookie help at wide receiver.
Will the Cowboys offense still be hyper dependent on Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, or have they found enough help to reclaim their spot as one of the league’s top scoring outfits? Are their four new rookies stepping into situations with realistic expectations that are ideal for development, giving some hope the Cowboys can...
