3 Cowboys with the biggest opportunity in 2024
Several young players are going to be given a chance to shine for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.
2024 is looking like a year of youth for the Dallas Cowboys. Despite them still being considered one of the top-tier teams in the conference, if the Cowboys are going to get to where everyone ultimately wants to be, it will take some youngsters to step up in a big way to make it happen.
With questions needing answers all over the roster, and playing time to be settled at training camp in Oxnard, California, the Cowboys have a list of players who should receive their biggest opportunity yet.
We look at three with the biggest opportunity heading into the 2024 season.
3 Cowboys who face the biggest opportunity this season
Several players could fit the bill here. With a roster so dependent on players raising their game, not only are the players themselves hoping for the best, but so are the members of the front office who are trying to control costs as big contracts loom large.
This list is filled with players who are not only getting their biggest opportunity yet but will also play a crucial role in this team's success by seizing that chance.
Jalen Tolbert
The first one is obvious. There may not be a bigger make-or-break year on the roster than the one Tolbert is currently in. The former third-round pick out of South Alabama is in pole position for the WR3 job, but the spot is far from a lock.
Tolbert’s contributions through his first two seasons have been minimal at best, but with Michael Gallup now gone, and with the Cowboys waiting until the sixth round to select a WR in the latest draft, the front office is hoping this is a job Tolbert can snatch up and run away with.
With KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, and possibly an outside signing added before it’s all said and done, winning this job won’t be easy, but it could change the trajectory of Tolbert’s NFL life.
Sam Williams
The pass-rushing group looks vastly different this year than in the recent past. With Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler off to Washington with Dan Quinn, it has created a massive opening to come in and be the next man up behind Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
Sam Williams has not been shy about his desire for more playing time; this could be the perfect storm for Williams and the Cowboys decision-makers. The former Ole Miss star has been productive despite a backlog at the position, but now this will be the greatest test of his young NFL career.
With only rookie Marshawn Kneeland a true threat to his increase in snaps, the time is now for Williams to be the type of defensive player he believes he is, and the team needs it more than ever.
Rico Dowdle
The running back room right now is a complete mystery. With a deliberate plan to allocate fewer resources at the position for a reset, the Cowboys have gone to the well of old friend Ezekiel Elliott once more.
While Zeke will certainly factor into the plans at the spot, this lack of aggressiveness at the position has created a tremendous opportunity for Rico Dowdle, who by many observer’s estimation looks to be the best of the bunch. Dowdle has never led an RB room before, and while it may be a true committee approach, there is a belief that Dowdle could be the guy who sees the higher number of touches when it all shakes out.
Ability has never held Dowdle back in the past, but his availability has. However, if he can stay healthy the opportunity may never be bigger for the young running back to lead a stable of players that can only be described as the ‘forgotten few’ right now.
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