Each week, we’ll get questions on Twitter and Facebook about the Dallas Cowboys players and other questions surrounding the team. So let’s get straight into it.
“What are they planning to do at LG since they haven’t recruited any guards?
(Submitted by Dan McCoy via Facebook)
Mike: Once the Cowboys got past their third-round pick (pick No. 90), the message was clear, they loved what they had. I was totally with the majority that thought the Cowboys needed help inside the offensive line. But not using a pick in the first three rounds indicates that they have a plan, and the players on the roster fill that coaching staff with enough confidence.
This plan will likely go back to the original lineup they had last year with Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith playing left, Tyler Biadasz staying center and Zack Martin and Terence Steele playing right. The plus with this lineup is that this is the Cowboys’ current top five start, a solid starting five (which everyone always wants). The downside, however, is that he once again messes with Tyler Smith’s development when the inevitable happens with Tyrone Smith. For now they have other options to tinker with both Chuma Edoga and their newly acquired TJ Bass in the UDFA pool which we’ll see more of during bootcamp and get a better rating. I don’t buy the Josh Paul talk McCarthy gave before the draft.
Brandon: Dan, your guess is as good as mine. In all seriousness, there will likely be a competition heading into training camp between Josh Ball, Chuma Edoga, and Matt Farniok as the most experienced players on the team. Fifth-round draft pick Asim Richards could be thrown into the mix, but he could sit back and take a year’s redshirt to learn the position.
Edoga offers more promise than Ball, but Farniok will be the dark horse candidate to surprise people this year. He’s entering the third year with a chance to compete after being given a chance at guard in 2022 when Conor McGovern went down. If all else fails, they can kick Tyler Smith back in and play Tyron Smith as a left tackle.
Since the Cowboys haven’t drafted a QB, when and where will they take a third pass?
(Submitted by Elizabeth Richardson via Facebook)
Mike: They have three quarterbacks on the roster along with the Duck, Cooper Rush and Will Grier, but they have the question entirely in terms of why they haven’t drafted a QB to develop. Mike McCarthy is usually easy to predict in that he always drafts a QB in later innings to develop and try to line him up. However, this year, with the wild selections made, meaning they went out and picked a great value running back, a much-needed running back for depth, and an under-the-radar wide receiver with their final three picks. These guys actually have a higher chance of making the roster than a fourth quarterback has a chance of eclipsing Grier’s roster spot.
Brandon: The Cowboys have shown they are comfortable with Cooper Rush and Will Grier taking plenty of shots at casual programming. Dak Prescott will get his start, but I think it has to do with the coaching staff assessing what they have in Greer.
It looked like he was about to win the backup role on Rush before he was injured, slowing his progress. The battle for position may not be for third on the list but for player #53, which could be between Greer, Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, Josh Ball, Neville Gallimore or some other player deep on the depth chart.
Post-draft, are there any UDFA players you had your eye on before the draft?
(Submitted by Jossy Farries via Facebook)
Mike: I think I’ve been pretty vocal throughout the draft season about FB Hunter Luepke from North Dakota State. In fact, I had the great honor of joining Brandon blogging boys for a direct mock draft and specifically targeted Luepke with the final draft pick. It reminds me a lot of what it is San Francisco 49ers We have Kyle Juszczyk’s. He can add to the receiving game and assist on the ground game as well as being a force on special teams. This is a great value in a single player. Add in the fact that the Cowboys will be executing a West Coast offense, which matches both his skill sets and role requirements, and this makes this acquisition one of the best in the Cowboys UDFA draft.
Brandon: The Cowboys haven’t had a traditional fullback in a long time. When Mike McCarthy was in Green Bay, he always used a linebacker on his offense, so it made sense that they would go after the best player in the class. As Mike mentioned, we had a mock draft pick that had us take Hunter Lubeck in the seventh round.
Linebacker/Defensive end Isaiah Land is an interesting name I heard before he was drafted because he was in the Senior Bowl. After re-watching his movie, it’s clear why the Cowboys wanted to bring him on. He’s a player with many traits that remind me of what Dallas had in Randy Gregory during his rookie season – a tall player but needs to develop his NFL physique.
Can Dallas give Vaughn 30-40% in touches to Pollard’s 60-70%? I also think Ronald Jones is a categorical post-camp candidate?
(send via Facebook)
Mike: Let’s do the second part first and say I agree with Ronald Jones. Once the Cowboys drafted a running back, that meant Rojo was put on deck to be cut, but he was always a placeholder for the team’s protection during the draft. They might hold on to him for the time being which makes sense in the event of an injury but with what the Cowboys have out there, that makes Jones the odd man out. The split between Vaughn and Pollard though perhaps goes further than that. It’s Vaughn’s size, he can’t take that many reps a league without risking injury or a significant drop in effectiveness. The other factor is Malik Davis and Rico Dowdle that this coaching staff really wants to find touches for. Depending on who they keep on the backcourt committee, this will be the factor to split the delivery percentage while Vaughn will look to play more change of pace with a higher receiving height.
Brandon: Contrary to opinion, Ronald Jones has a role in the team, being a different build than their current roster appearances. He is also a seasoned player whose coaching staff can quickly build confidence in critical situations. I could see the battle for the fourth consecutive running back spot between Jones and Lubeck, to see who was the better “big body” player.
With Deuce Vaughn, it will be interesting to see how McCarthy wants to use him on offense. If Kellen Moore was still here, it would be a more accurate picture, given how he used Tony Pollard last season. With McCarthy taking over play-calling duties, seeing Vaughn hard to see because he hasn’t called plays since 2019. And I can see the rookie getting ten to fifteen percent of snaps to start, with room to move up if he shows enough on the field.
Poll of the week: Finally in the mailbag, we asked what grade you would give to the Dallas Cowboys draft class this year. Here are the results and what we saw in the survey.
Mike: I think I agree with this. To be more specific, I’d go B+ for Cowboys class. I’ve wanted an inside defensive lineman help all along, but I never expected them to draft one in the first round because that’s never happened since 1991. Mazie Smith makes this defense scarier and more efficient against the running back that was Dallas’ weakness for a period last year. The tight end was a need, and they filled that need and did the same for the linebacker. On the third day, they filled in all the needs on the list as well. It wasn’t an exciting draft that we were used to in the past, this was a necessary draft. They went out targeting their buddies and brought in players who wanted to fill the roster with the missing pieces of free agency. This front office had a great opportunity to get ready for the preseason training program, so from free agency and the draft, I’m going to give this team an A- for what they’ve accomplished.
Brandon: on Blogging for boys Covering a three-day draft, RJ Ochoa asked the same question, and was given a B+ for the overall score. Handing out a report card before a starter arrives in Dallas is silly, but I understand the concept.
It’s not a draft full of projections hoping players like DeMarvion Overshown, Junior Fehoko, and even Mazi Smith reach their full potential in the first year. It’s hard to assume this will happen overnight, but I truly believe this dismissal could surprise people two years from now as one of the best under Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach.