FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys’ roster optimism?
Hey, if not now ... when?
Still ...
As players march into The Star this week for voluntary OTAs, questions obviously linger.
In that vein, let’s examine my seven “Big If’s’’ as they regard the sort of work that figures to be among the focal points as we start pointing toward training camp in Oxnard in late July ...
1 - CAN DALLAS FIND BALANCE? Troy Aikman offers an interesting take on the 2025 Dallas offense and its ability to do more of the same this year, part of the idea being that the offense was so good, in part, due to how bad the defense was.
“Can the offense continue to play at the level they did last year? That’s a big if,” the legendary Aikman said on ESPN’s GetUp. “It was one of Dak Prescott’s best years, it was George Pickens’ career year, Javonte Williams’ career year, there was a lot that happened on the offensive side of the ball.’’
But then Troy added a twist.
“If you’re a Cowboys fan, you hope the offensive numbers don’t look as good, because that would then mean that the defense is better and playing a much bigger role in the success of that team,’’ he said.
Aha! So the “big if’’ isn’t just about the offense repeating its high-level work.
The integration of a new defensive system - the “3-4 Hybrid’’ - raises all sorts of questions … about players and even about their positional assignments. How long will the integration take? And will it work in a way that provides this team offense/defense balance?
That’s “big if’’ No. 1.
2 - IS PICKENS SHOWING UP? The safe prediction? It seems unlikely that Pickens, despite having signed his $27.3 million franchise tag contract, will attend any of the voluntary work.
Is that a problem? Not yet.
The Cowboys have no interest in trading him. They have no interest in giving him a new deal now. And they swear they have no deep concern about a coming problem here.
“We love George,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “We look forward to George being a huge part of what we’re doing this season and hopefully beyond.”
3 - WHAT’S CALEB’S ROLE IN THE ‘DOWNSDAY DEFENSE’? The takeover for rookie first-round DB Caleb Downs? It’s inevitable.
But how soon does Cowboys Nation get to see it? What all will he be asked to do?
I don’t expect new coordinator Christian Parker to unveil everything for our prying eyes. But behind the scenes? I bet Downs - with his high FBIQ - will be gobbling up information now on the way to joining Pickens as an important watch at Oxnard training camp.
4 - WHO WEARS PARKER’S ‘GREEN DOT’? Conventionally, that job - quarterbacking the defense by wearing the green dot (with the radio in their helmet, getting the play-calls from the coordinator) - ends up going to a linebacker.
And the favorite here is surely new veteran Dee Winters, who comes over in trade from the San Francisco 49ers.
But he’s not really done much of that before. So … maybe DeMarvion Overshown? Nah; his plate is full just being healthy.
Umm, maybe Downs can do this, too?
“At the end of the day, 50 percent of our job as defenders is communication,” Downs said via 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “I can do that at a high level. If that’s what is asked of me, that’s what is going to get done.”
5 - CAN THESE TACKLES HOLD UP? The Cowboys spent a first-round pick on left tackle Tyler Guyton. They spent money on right tackle Terence Steele.
Ideally, they both improve enough that All-Pro Tyler Smith stays at left guard - which he prefers.
If those front-line tackles falter, backup Nate Thomas and rookie Drew Shelton might be in the mix. But “faltering leading to mad scrambles’’ isn’t a very good plan.
The “investments’’ need to pay off.
6 - THE CORNERBACK BATTLE The Cowboys vision is that DaRon Bland wins one cornerback job, and that Shavon Revel - hopefully fully healthy - wins the other spot.
But incoming veteran Cobie Durant could be in play to push for more than just rotational snaps.
So Revel vs. Durant? Sounds like fun - more fun than a year ago, when starting jobs and rotational spots were being handed out to cornerbacks by default rather than due to success.
7 - DOES DALLAS NEED ANOTHER RUNNING BACK? The media sure seems to think so, linking the Cowboys to names like Alvin Kamara, James Conner, Tony Pollard and Trey Benson. But we need to start with the optimal plan, and as it’s been explained to me, that’s all about Javonte Williams being the clear No. 1 with speedy Jaydon Blue as his caddy. (With Hunter Luepke also doing his thing.)
That plan would be helped by Blue maturing into the job starting this week, thus putting distance between him a Malik Davis and Phil Mafah … and putting distance between him and the rumor mill.
