How the Dallas Cowboys' Starting Offensive Line Compares to the Rest of the NFC East
NFL teams build their teams through the trenches. The best ones most often do, at least. No matter how much finesse is incorporated into play-calling, offensive and defensive line play are monumental for success. There is no better example of that than last year's Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes was running for his life all game […]
NFL teams build their teams through the trenches. The best ones most often do, at least. No matter how much finesse is incorporated into play-calling, offensive and defensive line play are monumental for success. There is no better example of that than last year's Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes was running for his life all game due to his depleted offensive line. Their offense never got going, and it costed them the Lombardi Trophy. The Cowboys' offensive line is a different story.
Dallas O-Line has one of the most talented offensive line units in the league when they are at full strength. It is a mixture of proven veterans and growing younger guys. The two starting tackles will be La'El Collins and Tyron Smith. The two guards will be Zack Martin and Connor Williams. Tyler Biadasz will be the starting center.
How exactly does their projected offensive line matchup with the rest of the NFC East?
Washington Football Team
The Washington Football Team has seen its offensive line have a pretty big face-life this off-season. It is possible that the team will be starting three new players on their Week 1 unit. They traded for Ereck Flowers from Miami in late April, and he will most likely get the nod at a guard spot. Additionally, both tackle spots could be filled by new additions. Rookie Samuel Cosmi has reportedly been impressive so far this off-season, and Charles Leno Jr. was added after being released by the Chicago Bears.
Center and Right Guard is where their line is their strongest. Center Chase Roullier has really come into his own over the past couple of years, and Brandon Scherff at RG was a First-Team All-Pro in 2020. Those two make the case for WFT. Nevertheless, I'll give the nod to the Cowboys at both the Tackle spots and one of the Guard spots. Overall Advantage: Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles
Philly has quite the interesting offensive line. It is a combination of some seasoned, talented guys and some unproven, inconsistent pieces. Guard Brandon Brooks, Center Jason Kelce, and Tackle Lane Johnson have shown they can be somewhat injury-prone, but they are elite players at their positions.
Tackle Andre Dillard and Guard Isaac Seumalo have more to prove. Tackle Jordan Mailata also may be in play to take Dillard's spot at the start of the year. The seems to not be decided quite yet. Also, Landon Dickerson, their second-round rookie from Alabama, could vie for Seumalo's starting gig at Guard. Dallas has its availability concerns on the offensive line, but the Eagles may have even more. Give me the Cowboys for both the tackle spots as well as one of the guard spots. Kelce and Brooks, even as older players, still take the Center and one Guard selection between the two. Overall Advantage: Cowboys
New York Giants
New York's offensive line is a very young group. The oldest player on the unit is RG Will Hernandez, and he s only 25 years old. The Giants have three second-year players projected to start on their offensive line. OTs Matt Peart and Andrew Thomas and LG Shane Lemieux are those three. All three of them had high and low points in 2020 as rookies, but that was to be expected.
Center Nick Gates had a pretty good 2019, but he took a bit of a step back in 2020. Hernandez at Guard is convincingly their best offensive lineman. As for the rest of the positions, I would lean toward Dallas for the advantage. New York's youth could take steps this season, but for now, the Cowboys just have more sustained talent on their line. Overall Advantage: Cowboys
Dallas has the advantage at offensive line over all their divisional foes – on paper. With everyone healthy right now, their star power is just too much for the rest of the groups in the NFC East. They need to continue to prove this is the case in 2021 in order to win the division.
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