Cowboys news: A list of what the team needs to go right in 2024
Notable headlines surrounding America’s team.
8 things Cowboys must have go right for 2024 include repeat Prescott performance - K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire
Was 2023’s performance unrepeatable?
Rookie OL baseline is Tyler Smith in 2022, Tyler Biadasz in 2020
As mentioned above, Biadasz and Tyron Smith are expected to be replaced this year by rookies Beebe and Guyton. What can be expected out of the young duo?
In 2020, Biadasz came in as a fourth-round rookie and started four games, but that was in relief of veteran Joe Looney. Dallas doesn’t currently have anyone with Looney’s experience sitting in the room with Beebe, who played every position but center during his time at Kansas State. Dallas is likely going to need more from him than Biadasz, unless Brock Hoffman shines in training camp and earns the starting gig.
As for Guyton, there’s more hope there. In 2022, Tyler Smith spent the entire offseason and most of training camp playing left guard. It wasn’t until close to the regular season that Tyron Smith was lost and Tyler Smith had to move outside to left tackle.
Guyton played right tackle in college, but he’ll spend the entire offseason on the left, presumably allowing him to have a better rookie season than Smith.
Cowboys’ fan favorite throws Dan Quinn under the bus with Mike Zimmer praise - Sayre Bedinger, The Landry Hat
While nobody really threw anybody under the bus, it is interesting phrasing from DeMarvion Overshown.
“I like Zim, because he actually teaches us football. You feel it and you get a good grasp of everything going on with the defense. You know what the safeties [are doing] and what the D-line are doing in front of you, and it’s easy to click with everybody.
I tell people all of the time that I’m excited to play for him. I’ve seen who he’s coached, the defenses he’s been a part of, and they’ve all been special. When you get to play for a guy like this, you wanna take everything that he says and write it down, make a mental note of it, because he’s not telling you anything that’s not gonna make you a great player in this league.”
- De’Marvion Overshown (via Cowboys)
Overshown isn’t maliciously slamming Dan Quinn, but this kind of candid comment from a player regarding a new coach can’t help but be contrasted with the guy who previously held the job. Overshown may not have said Dan Quinn didn’t teach football, but by saying that Zimmer “actually” teaches them football, he’s perhaps implying that there was more Quinn could have taught the defenders to prepare them.
Ex-Cowboy Admits New Life With Commanders Won’t Be ‘Easy’ - Jovan Alford, SportDFW
Dorance Armstrong speaks about his new team.
The 27-year-old defensive end was asked about the challenge of trying to change the narrative around the Commanders and gave an insightful answer.
“Trying to turn a program around, it takes a lot,” Armstrong said via David Harrison of Commander Country. “You got to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things. It’s a big grind. It’s not easy. It’s going to take everybody.”
After spending the first six years of his career with the Cowboys, where Dallas is always viewed as a contender and in the hunt, Armstrong will try to hopefully bring that same mentality over to the Commanders this season.
The Commanders have only made the playoffs twice since 2015 and subsequently lost in the wild-card round twice. Last season, Washington went 4-13 and lost both games to the Cowboys, being outscored 83-20.
Coincidentally, Armstrong played well against the Commanders in 2023, posting five combined tackles, two quarterback hits, a sack, and a tackle for loss.
Nonetheless, Quinn and Armstrong will try to do their best to make sure it’s not a similar result this coming season.
Dak Prescott’s contract isn’t the only dramatic choice Cowboys must make at QB - Mark Powell, FanSided
Dallas’ QB room is in flux for the first time in years.
While Prescott rightly gets most the headlines, Dallas has more to worry about at his own position. The backup quarterback spot is far from decided, as Trey Lance continues to impress in minicamp, and Cooper Rush is the incumbent.
The Cowboys know what they have in Rush, and already understand his ceiling is a bottom-tier starter, or one of the better backups in the NFL. Lance, though, is shrouded in mystery, and it’s why he’s likely to receive a lot of reps in training camp, as Blogging the Boys Brad Martin wrote last week:
“When Dak isn’t on the field in practice or preseason, it’s more likely than not going to be the Trey Lance show. Dallas is going to give him every opportunity to showcase his talent in the hopes of either facilitating a trade to a QB needy team or justify potentially keeping him around for future purposes,” Martin wrote.
In many ways, the consistency of Rush could be his undoing for the QB2 spot in Dallas. If Lance plays well in preseason action he could get the job over Rush, and the uncertainty around Prescott’s contract situation lends itself to giving Lance more playing time.
Jake Ferguson’s breakout season makes him division’s top tight end - Richard Paolinelli, Inside The Star
Ferguson is already the NFC East’s best.
In his second NFL season – and first as the Cowboys’ starting tight end – Jake Ferguson had a breakout campaign.
Ferguson caught 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Schultz was quickly forgotten. What remains to be seen in 2024 is if Dallas has the better overall room at the position.
Last year’s second round pick, Luke Schoonmaker, struggled with injuries even before he was drafted.
He had a pre-draft foot injury that lingered through last year’s mini-camp. Schoonmaker had offseason shoulder surgery and now he’s battling a hamstring issue.
He didn’t start a single game last year and finished with just eight catches and 65 yards.
He did score two touchdowns. But it was a catch that fell an inch short of the endzone in a loss to the Eagles that stands out in his highlight reel.
In short, Schoonmaker didn’t set the NFL world on fire in his rookie season and its feared his sophomore season won’t be much better.
Which leaves Peyton Hendershot – and his 15 catches for 141 yards and two scores in 25 games over two seasons – as the next option.
Unless the Cowboys discovered a diamond in the undrafted free agent rough in April.
Brevyn Spann-Ford started 25 games over his last two seasons at Minnesota. He had 736 yards on 67 catches with four touchdowns over that span.
If Schoonmaker and/or Hendershot continues to underperform, Spann-Ford could play his way to TE2.
If three of the four put it together this year the Cowboys would easily have the best tight end group in the NFC East.
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