Evaluating position groups where the Cowboys ‘like their guys’ before the draft

There are some places on the roster that the Cowboys have chosen to not do much at to this point in the offseason.

It wouldn’t be the offseason for the Dallas Cowboys without some type of catchphrase being coined by the front office, and sticking with the fanbase for either all of the right or wrong reasons. Somewhere out there in the universe, the last “all in” joke about the 2024 version of a Cowboys team that finished 7-10 and out of the playoffs has yet to be made. As much as it may still hurt, it helps knowing Jerry’s misguided comment truly is in the past, as is the harping on Stephen Jones’ “we like our guys” mantra. They’ve been replaced by the Cowboys desire to be “selectively aggressive” this offseason. To their credit, they have done a much better job backing this up by being active in both free agency and the trade market to infuse a roster in desperate need of talent with players their new coaches are eager to work with.

Despite this flurry of activity, and Dallas still holding ten picks in next week’s draft, the Cowboys would have a hard time filling in the Ford Center at The Star let alone AT&T Stadium with fans who truly believe the team is improved enough right now to compete for the playoffs in HC Brian Schottenheimer’s first year. This is largely because with each new mantra of the offseason painting a slightly different picture, the big picture of who the Dallas Cowboys are is still a conglomeration of all of the things they believe in – many of which hold them back.

The Cowboys are still a team that is going to favor their own players and aim to get draft picks to second contracts, but their predetermined belief that many of their picks will reach this point by being contributors early on hurts their ability to improve quickly with proven free agents or trade pieces. In the early parts of free agency and the trade market, the Cowboys stepped out of this comfort zone enough to add outside players at all but three positions this offseason, center, offensive tackle and safety. That changed this week just before the draft with the addition of tackle Hakeem Adeniji, but the positions they are feeling the most set at based on this metric are still tackle, center, and safety. These are the unofficial positions they seemingly “like their guys” at ahead of the draft. The Cowboys have not stuck their neck at at any of these positions with nearly the same sense of urgency as RB, DT, or LB.

Let’s take a closer look at what the Cowboys have at all three positions to feel good about, before the draft and college free agency is their only viable way to make additions.

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images

Offensive Tackle

The Cowboys learned the hard way at several positions last season how depending on their own young players too early can lead to growing pains, but are also hopeful that players who went through this can be a part of a new culture with year two or three leaps. One of the best examples of this is last year’s first-round pick Tyler Guyton at left tackle.

Guyton started 11 games at left tackle in the Cowboys’ first season without future Hall of Fame inductee Tyron Smith, who officially retired with the team on Wednesday. In several of these games, the rookie from Oklahoma rotated with Asim Richards. The Cowboys were not fully prepared to handle much of the standard roster attrition at all last offseason, yet alone replacing a franchise great in Smith right away. Drafting Guyton can still be the solution here though, with new offensive line coach Conor Riley ready to work with a second year player that took his lumps and still has untapped potential.

How the Cowboys new looks on offense, particularly up front where offensive coordinator Klayton Adams is expected to have a big influence, can help Guyton along. Schottenheimer’s play-calling balancing the run and pass will be crucial in evaluating if Dallas has truly hit on another first-round starting lineman. Guyton’s length and ability to cover ground quickly with short, nimble steps is an ideal skill set for the type of quick passing game the Cowboys may favor in Dak Prescott’s return from injury.

At right tackle, the Cowboys will be going into what will remarkably be Terence Steele’s sixth year as a starter. As if both Tyron Smith and Zack Martin retiring this offseason hasn’t made Cowboys fans question where the time has gone, particularly with offensive linemen, this stat about Steele is even more of the same medicine. Steele will face the challenge of impressing yet another coaching staff with the same work ethic that put him in a starting role back in 2020. The benefit of doing so for a head coach that’s already been in the building as OC isn’t the only thing working in Steele’s advantage this offseason. With Adams replacing Schottenheimer as OC, his emphasis on getting athletic linemen out in space and blocking downhill in the run game should bring out the best of Steele.

The Cowboys have been no stranger to putting the bulk of their cap space in the offensive line before, and with that commitment came the expectation that the group would dominate one through five. With the burden of expectations relative to cap spending elsewhere on offense now, Dallas still has a new path in front of them to get back to winning in the trenches. Their young offensive line group has gained playing experience quickly, and with the coaching emphasis now in place for them to take the next step, finding additional depth in the draft needs to be a focus to ensure this group is fully ready for a long season.

Whether or not Asim Richards will remain a depth player at tackle, or a name in competition for the starting right guard job, remains to be seen. Matt Waletzko, Nathan Thomas and Dakoda Shepley are the other backup tackles currently on the roster. Waletzko and Thomas can also be considered longshot outsiders for the right guard competition, or seen as more valuable guard depth, depending on if the Cowboys continue to address tackle not only late in free agency with Adeniji but the draft as well. The Cowboys have also made two outside additions at guard with Robert Jones and Saahdiq Charles, hopefully giving them the best chance for the type of competition at either tackle spot that will make both projected starters Guyton and Steele better by the time the season arrives.

Center

Sticking with the offensive line, the Cowboys have also shown confidence in last year’s third-round pick Cooper Beebe to remain the starting center without much competition being brought in so far. If the hiring of Riley as OL coach is expected to be a boost for Tyler Guyton, it should be ten-fold for Beebe. Riley was Beebe’s position coach in college at Kansas State, and even though Beebe mostly played guard during this time, the continuity paired with the Cowboys desire to run the ball and Beebe’s strength in run blocking make him one of the most clear-cut candidates for a year two breakout on the entire Cowboys roster.

The safety valve at center is veteran Brock Hoffman who will be battling at guard to replace the retired Zack Martin.

The Cowboys are counting on the durability of Cooper Beebe at center, and having him consistently in the lineup to grow further into the signal caller of this offensive line would be a massive step for the Schottenheimer offense to get off the ground quickly. Beebe got better with each passing week last season, with most of his growth coming well after Prescott was out for the season. Seeing how the Cowboys’ QB1 and their second-year center get up to speed with practice reps later in the offseason will be one of the most important things to watch for early on in OTAs and training camp.

Safety

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

With the Cowboys going into their third straight season with a new defensive coordinator, a position group they’ve historically overlooked has become something of a mashup of different schemes and approaches. Safeties are an important part of the coverages that Matt Eberflus relies on. The Cowboys didn’t quite get the most out of the brain trust of Mike Zimmer and Al Harris as a duo coaching the Cowboys secondary a year ago, but there are still intriguing pieces for Eberflus to pick up where they left off.

Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson will both return at safety. They will be joined by Markquese Bell, who signed a new three-year deal to remain at safety after previously spending a year at linebacker in 2023 under Dan Quinn, and fan-favorite Juanyeh Thomas. It may be a minor thing, but when trying to determine where the Cowboys see continuity despite these constant coordinator changes on defense, having Bell as a more long-term option at safety now is one of them. The Cowboys also signed Israel Mukuamu to a new one-year deal to remain as a versatile defender on the backend. The ability by both players to diagnose plays quickly and beat pass catchers to the spot in coverage while also tackling in space are paramount in Eberflus’ scheme.

The Cowboys stance on safeties being an important enough position to allocate serious resources to in the name of winning games has not changed in the face of many other changes this offseason. The current makeup of their depth chart here suggests this safety group will go as the more crucial elements of the team making up their identity go. If Dallas is controlling the ball offensively, playing with the lead, and forcing opposing offenses to throw the ball from a trailing position, they have the athletic and rangy players at safety to make an impact. If this defense is caught in as many game-neutral situations as they were a year ago, forced to stand up against the run often, and fails to put opponents behind the sticks, they’ve seen players like Wilson and Hooker at safety give up their share of big plays.

One of the most interesting things to monitor in next week’s draft will be the influence each new coach seemingly has in targeting the wide array of needs that still exist all over the Cowboys roster. This is where Eberflus’ past experience with the team and high respect already earned from the front office and players could go a long way. Cornerback is still by far the team’s more pressing need in the secondary compared to safety, but as the draft shifts to day two or three, it makes a ton of sense for this team to add a player that can compete for a share of defensive and special teams snaps at safety.