The Dallas Cowboys are a great football team.
Read the previous line to yourself out loud. It feels great to say it.
Best part about that statement is that it’s entirely true!
Back to back 12-5 seasons give Cowboys Nation the freedom to admit the Cowboys will field a very good team in 2023.
The Dallas offense is returning nine starters from last season, and the 10th man this year (Brandin Cooks) is an upgrade from that 10th man from 2022 (Noah Brown).
On defense, Dan Quinn retained essentially every single starter, and upgraded from Anthony Brown to former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore.
Dallas is trying to build off of back to back playoff seasons for the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Two years ago a Wildcard appearance, and last season a Wildcard win followed by a Divisional round loss.
The next logical step is a Divisional round win and an appearance in the NFC Championship game, right?
That’s the goal. 15 other teams in the NFC also have that same goal.
I’m not worried about 15 other teams. I’m not worried about ANY other team, actually.
Where is all this angst amongst Cowboys Nation coming from?
Perhaps it’s the 28 year NFC Championship Game drought mentioned above, but this team has already proven that the past has no bearing on their future.
The Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the NFC.
They have an incredibly deep returning roster bolstered by a rookie class that is impressing in training camp.
The biggest training camp questions honestly feel like first world problems, and the team is much better off than some are making it out to be.
Wide Receiver
There was once a time just a couple of years ago when the Cowboys’ offense featured three wide receivers who were labeled 1a, 1b, and 1c.
Last season was a far cry from those days.
CeeDee Lamb was the only bright spot after Amari Cooper was dealt to the Browns for a 5th round pick.
Michael Gallup was not ready mentally or physically to return from an ACL tear suffered near the end of the 2021 season.
Special teams ace Noah Brown was thrust into a role of WR2 that he just wasn’t enough for.
Kudos to him for the effort, but he lacked the traits to be truly successful across the formation from Lamb.
Cowboys fans can breathe a sigh of relief this year, however.
Dallas used essentially the same value 5th round pick they received from the Browns to trade for Brandin Cooks.
He looks electric in training camp, as does Gallup.
Behind those big three, there are several players who are fighting for the remaining spots on the depth chart.
Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, Simi Fehoko, Dennis Houston, Jalen Brooks, and Jalen Moreno-Cropper are all in the mix.
Tolbert and Turpin are likely locks, leaving just one spot for the rest of group to fight for.
When the biggest question in your wide receiver room is who is going to play WR6, I’d say you’re in pretty good shape.
Swing Tackle
Ok, maybe there is some precedent to this position that could cause some worry.
Starting LT Tyron Smith has missed 44 games since 2015, which is also the last year he played a full season.
We pray for the best when it comes to Tyron’s health, but we have learned to expect for him to miss time.
If all goes as planned, the Cowboys starting five on the offensive line will feature the following players:
- LT Tyron Smith
- LG Tyler Smith
- C Tyler Biadasz
- RG Zack Martin
- RT Terence Steele
Just the fact that we already know the offensive line combination the team will roll out is the same from last season is already a win.
The situation everyone is worried about would just be the 2023 chapter of the same novel.
Tyron went down last season.
Then rookie LG Tyler Smith kicked out to left tackle, and the offense didn’t miss a beat.
RT Terence Steele is looking back to normal after a torn ACL suffered in October of last year, and is poised to start Week 1.
Should Tyron go down or Steele miss time, the most logical player to step up would be second year player Matt Waletzko.
There are bigger fish to fry instead of losing sleep over who will play a backup role at offensive tackle.
Defensive End
Defensive end is a position that is so deep for Dallas that they will likely be forced to release a player who could start on several other teams.
Quinn loves a deep rotation all across his defensive line, and the personnel changes with each formation.
So the depth chart doesn’t really spell out the actual ranking in Quinn’s eyes, but we can assume who the top two are on each side.
DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons man the left, while Dorance Armstrong and Sam Williams anchor the right side.
Essentially, the question mark and training camp battle is for the right to be DE5, and likely just a situational pass rusher.
Chauncey Golston, Dante Fowler Jr., and rookie Viliami “Junior” Fehoko are battling for the right to that spot, which Golston and Fowler likely leading the way.
No need to fret over who is going to be the fifth defensive end to see the field.
Cornerback
The newest addition to the Cowboys’ secondary had all of us jumping for joy.
Stephon Gilmore was acquired by trade from the Indianapolis Colts to pair with All-Pro Trevon Diggs.
The move immediately vaulted the pair into the conversation for the best duo in the NFL.
Gilmore essentially replaced Anthony Brown, but is definitely an upgrade.
Behind the top two are another pair of players that could likely start for several other NFL teams.
Second year promising player DaRon Bland and veteran Jourdan Lewis round out the top four on the depth chart.
Bland led the team in interceptions as a rookie with five, four of those coming in clutch time of the 4th quarter.
Lewis is working back from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered last season.
He was actually injured on a play where he recorded an interception, a testament to the type of season he was having.
The biggest question in the cornerback room is who will win the CB5 spot.
That battle is going to be fierce between Nahshon Wright, Kelvin Joseph, and the surprising rookie 5th round pick Eric Scott Jr.
When you get this deep into the depth chart for any position, special teams will be key winning a spot on the roster.
In that regard, Joseph probably has a leg up, but Wright and Scott have been sticky in coverage thus far in training camp.
What they have been showing in coverage could outweigh what Joseph has shown in special teams.
Either way, if the biggest worry in the cornerback room is who is fifth on the depth chart, the team is in great shape.
Safety
If the Cowboys’ safety room were Greek mythology, Dan Quinn would be Hades commanding the three headed beast, Cerberus.
The trio of Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, and Malik Hooker are essential to Quinn’s patented three safety look on defense.
Although they may not start the game together on the field, at some point during the game they will be on the field together.
All three play such a large role, they can all be considered starters.
Behind the big three are some intriguing young players who are getting increased opportunities with Wilson sidelined by injury.
Juanyeh Thomas has stood out a bit more than Markquese Bell and Tyler Coyle so far in training camp.
Much like the cornerback position, special teams is a must from players past the top three of the depth chart in this safety room.
Bell actually made the Cowboys active roster last season while Thomas and Coyle spent the year on the practice squad.
Whichever way you slice it, nobody should be pulling their hair out over who will be fourth on the depth chart at safety.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the Cowboys’ most versatile players, Israel “Izzy” Mukuamu.
He has been working with both the cornerbacks and the safeties since the tail end of last season.
Izzy definitely needs to be included in the conversation for both positions in the secondary.
If you’ve read this far, first of all, thank you for reading.
Secondly, I hope you noticed a pattern with the position battles everyone is focusing on in training camp.
They are all backup positions! Do you realize what a luxury this is?
The Cowboys are eating steak and shrimp at most positions on the roster while other teams are fighting for scraps at several positions.
These are definitely first world problems to have.
Cowboys Nation, in the words of Aaron Rodgers, R-E-L-A-X.
This team is going to be just fine.
