Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for bigger things this upcoming season, but what if they magically came up with an unexpected breakout player to pull it off? The team is banking on a revamped coaching staff, headlined by new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, to help them make the leap into true contention. But schematic upgrades only go so far. They need some of their young cast members to take a massive step forward, but who will those players be? A more interesting question is, which player would provide the greatest overall benefit to the team if they earned their first-ever All-Pro nod?
Before we dive into this, go ahead and make your guess. Write it down in the comments, or just hold it in your head, and let us see how close we line up as we take you through our thought process.
First off, to clarify the ground rules, previous All-Pros are not allowed. This is deliberate because we are already expecting those players to be elite. Stringing together another great season would be fantastic, but that is only adding a little extra value. We want that jump to be massive and come from an unexpected hero. So, for that reason, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Quinnen Williams, and DaRon Bland are officially deemed ineligible.
Now that we have that squared away, let’s dive into this.
Logic dictates that a truly great performance should come from an important position. While it would be fun to see Javonte Williams run wild over the league, how far would an All-Pro running back move the needle? DeMarvion Overshown might actually be the betting favorite to achieve this honor, considering he flashed serious potential during his first healthy action in the league, at least until he got hurt. Turning into a superstar is not something anyone would complain about, but he is still just an off-ball linebacker. Even rookie safety Caleb Downs could hit the ground running, but does a star safety help the team the absolute most? Remember, we have a magic wand here. We can do better.
Following this line of reasoning, we should consider limiting our choices to a “money five” position, a label coined by BTB alum KD Drummond. That means we look carefully at quarterback, edge rusher, left tackle, wide receiver, and cornerback. We have already taken Prescott off the table, so the other feasible options are as follows:
For the sake of simplicity, let us assume these other four positions have equal value, even though their contrasting market prices prove they do not. That puts any players from those positions on the table, so let us run through the options.
It is easy to rule out a wide receiver because the roster already features two great targets. If Ryan Flournoy or anyone else emerged as an All-Pro star, it likely means Lamb or...
