Despite Ezekiel Elliott’s absence, training camp for the Dallas Cowboys has pretty much gotten off to a good start. That’s the good news though. The bad news is that their offensive line depth is currently getting tested and it could be a cause of concern throughout the remainder of the offseason.
With Zack Martin, Connor McGovern, and Cody Wichmann currently nursing injuries, the Dallas Cowboys are currently a little thin along the offensive line. That’s not even mentioning the veteran days off Travis Frederick is receiving while he works his way back into shape after missing all of 2018 with an autoimmune disease. This not only hurts the evaluation process, but it could also get someone injured.
Fortunately, the Dallas Cowboys know all too well the importance of having some competent depth behind their starters. They’ve learned from their mistakes, cough cough Chaz Green, and have been much more vigilant since then at addressing the issue. That’s why it’s not all that surprising they recently brought in some help.
The Cowboys have signed OL Lukayus McNeil, who can play guard and tackle. He had been with the Oakland Raiders. The Cowboys have been searching for OL depth with injuries to Zack Martin, Connor McGovern and Cody Wichmann.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 6, 2019
Now, this may seem like a “meh” addition on the surface, but it’s a smart move on the Cowboys part because it will help with the evaluation process throughout the remainder of preseason. That’s the short term goal right now. The long-term goal is to get everybody healthy once again.
Sadly, the offense simply can’t function if the OL is breaking down and letting the defense wreak havoc on the running and passing game. Evaluating the backup QBs and RBs could be more important this year than it has in years past. There’s just too much unknown behind Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott to feel comfortable if one or both had to miss any amount of time.
Fortunately, the injuries to Zack Martin, Connor McGovern, and Cody Wichmann aren’t expected to keep them out of action much longer. Holding Martin out right now is mostly precautionary and according to Mark Lane and Stephen Jones, McGovern could finally make his Cowboys debut in a couple of weeks.
#Cowboys COO Stephen Jones tells @1053thefan Connor McGovern will be back practicing in a couple weeks.
— Mark Lane (@therealmarklane) August 6, 2019
Once everyone is back to full health the Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t have any concerns about their depth along the offensive line. Martin will immediately step back into his starting spot and McGovern will be a valuable backup due to his versatility to play guard or center. Add Joe Looney and Xavier Su’a-Filo to the mix and Dallas has some quality depth pieces at their disposal.
Until all of this comes to fruition though the overall depth will continue to be tested. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on this week when the Dallas Cowboys take on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the preseason. Hopefully the OL can manage to hold up for a few more weeks until they are back to full strength.
