With how the offseason has gone, folks can say what they want, but the Dallas Cowboys will need their first—and second-round picks from a year ago to make a leap in 2024.
Luke Schoonmaker and Mazi Smith will be asked to make an impact even more than a year ago.
With the losses of Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler, Jonathan Hankins, and others on defense, Smith has to get this right.
Schoonmaker will be depended on a little bit less, but with the loss of Michael Gallup and Tony Pollard, we might see more two or three tight end sets, allowing him to see the field much more in 2024.
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan on DT Mazi Smith: "He didn't play as much as we would have liked (last season). I think it was a learning process with him, learning what Dan (Quinn) wanted out of the defensive linemen. We knew when we drafted him out of Michigan that he…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 16, 2024
Luke Schoonmaker
Considering how Ferguson made a massive leap in Year 2, the Cowboys can only hope for that kind of jump for Schoonmaker.
Obviously, Ferg is the starter and will get many more opportunities than Schoonmaker, but he can have a good offseason/camp and give himself a chance to have a package in the offense this season.
The second-round pick out of Michigan had two touchdown catches on eight receptions.
That number should and hopefully will be more significant this season than last. I would hate to see another second-round pick go to waste.
If they were going to have a chance to get solid production out of him, it would be now, with the offense missing a lot of firepower.
I do want to mention that both Mazi Smith and Luke Schoonmaker played all 18 games for the #Cowboys last season.
Give both credit for battling through injury and staying on the field. https://t.co/u5BvnoGCpa
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) March 26, 2024
Mazi Smith
We have to be honest here: Smith was awful as a rookie; there is no other way to sugarcoat it: he was terrible.
Smith struggled in every area of the game as a rookie. He was slow off the snap, offered little to no pressure through the gaps, and was even ineffective against the run.
He was a liability on most plays, playing just 304 snaps on a defense starved for DT play.
I saw a lot of fans bringing up Taco Charlton. Do you remember how bad of a pick that was for Dallas? Well, he now has Mike Zimmer as his coach,
Based on what we saw from him as a rookie, it is hard to expect a solid year from Smith. I haven’t given up yet, but all we will need to see is the first few games of 2024, and I’ll either be halfway in or entirely out with the door closed.
Cowboys NT Mazi Smith (shoulder surgery) carried a four-to-six month timetable following procedure he underwent shortly after season. He is expected to be ready for training camp. TE Luke Schoonmaker’s shoulder surgery was more recent, but “all systems go” for his camp, too, a…
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) March 26, 2024
Yet, this team NEEDS him to play like a first-round pick because of what they lost this offseason.
Smith had surgery this offseason that will sideline him anywhere from four to six months, I am praying that this will not cost him any games this season, but we can’t wait forever for him to show up.
2024 Draft
I am not sure what the Cowboys will do in the draft. I am hoping they take an offensive lineman in the first round and then maybe a running back in the second.
After that, they can look at best available over the need. So if a linebacker or a defensive end, wide receiver are all there, just take the best one left.
They need depth at all of those spots, so it won’t hurt either way.
But please do not draft another DT in the first round next week, that will be the worst possible thing that they could do.
Going to be long summer for this team, if they aren’t carefully they will be done by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. Everyone in the NFC East got better, they got worse, and their non divisional schedule is not a cake walk.
Let’s see how the next few months shake out, like maybe getting CeeDee Lamb signed.
