Cowboys aren't serious about 2024 NFL season unless they pull off trade at feeble position
The Dallas Cowboys have one of the weakest position groups in the entire NFL entering the 2024 NFL season. It's that bad.Although I understand the concerns about potentially starting two rookie offensive linemen to protect Dak Prescott and the stress behind the lack of contract extensions for the biggest names on the team, none of […]
The Dallas Cowboys have one of the weakest position groups in the entire NFL entering the 2024 NFL season. It's that bad.
Although I understand the concerns about potentially starting two rookie offensive linemen to protect Dak Prescott and the stress behind the lack of contract extensions for the biggest names on the team, none of that gives me a bigger headache when taking a bird's-eye view of the Cowboys roster than defensive tackle.
It's bad and by far the biggest risk the Cowboys are taking on ahead of the season. Right now, it's to the point where if they don't make a trade to upgrade the room, I question if they're even serious about this season.
Osa Odighizuwa is set to start at three-technique and that's great. He's a capable pass rusher and a good run defender that's had some strong showings in his three-year NFL career. He's switching defensive schemes, though, and it's no secret his high snap counts paired with relatively low weight (listed at 280) parlays into significant wear down late in the season.
This wouldn't be a problem if… he wasn't the only proven player in the unit.
Starting alongside him will be Mazi Smith at nose tackle, who is an enormous question mark considering last year he didn't play at the weight that he will in 2024. We'll find out in training camp if the former first-round pick is at the level we thought he might be coming out of Michigan.
Beyond these two, a proven starter and a player we have no clue what to expect from him, the depth does little to inspire confidence. Excluding UDFAs, here's what things look like:
- Carl Davis (nose tackle, career backup with little upside at 32 years old)
- Justin Rogers (nose tackle, seventh-round rookie)
- Chauncey Golston (three-technique, I say he's underrated but he doesn't quite provide size to the room as a former DE)
- Maybe DE Viliami Fehoko if they change his position?
"Osa, Chauncey, and Fehoko at defensive tackle would be the lightest defensive tackle depth that Mike Zimmer has ever had and he'd probably be pulling his hair out," Will Steele recently said as we discussed this on A to Z Sports Dallas Primetime. "Specially when you can tell one of the things he was brought here to do is to fix this damned run defense. And you can't do that with sub-290-pound defensive tackles littered across your room."
So you see my point, right? Simply put, there's a big contributor missing on that list. The Cowboys won't be able to solve this issue through a free agency signing, either. There aren't any needle-movers available at this stage of the offseason.
What the Cowboys should be looking into is a late-offseason trade. During the show above, a few names that came to mind were Jonathan Allen (Commanders), B.J. Hill (Bengals), and Davon Godchaux (Patriots).
The Cowboys have talked a big game about fixing the run defense, bringing Zimmer in and signing Eric Kendricks in free agency. But that might end up not mattering at all with the current rotation of defensive tackles on the team. That's where it all starts and despite the addition of Kendricks, the defensive front of the Cowboys is not better than it was last year because of the losses on the defensive line.
Adam Schefter perfectly explains just how powerful Dak Prescott’s position is right now
Cowboys messed it up.
