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The Dallas Cowboys were among the NFL’s worst in special teams in 2019. There are obviously a lot of facets to special teams, but the faces of it are generally the kicker, punter, and long snapper. Dallas has a new special teams coach under Mike McCarthy in John Fassel - one of the best in the league coaching the unit - so there is a lot of hope that the group can turn things around starting this season.
As far as the specialists of special teams go, the Cowboys have had a lot of familiarity over the years. For so long it was Dan Bailey at kicker, Chris Jones at punter, and L.P. Ladouceur at long snapper. Obviously the Cowboys moved on from Bailey almost two years ago now, and things have hardly been smooth sailing in trying to find his replacement.
The Cowboys are looking at specialist prospects
While Brett Maher served as the poster boy of last season’s special teams dysfunction, punter Chris Jones has also regressed from what was once a promising career peak. Ladouceur might be snapping into the next century, but whatever the case is the Cowboys are going to need new faces at these core spots sooner rather than later.
According to The Dallas Morning News, it appears as if the Cowboys are turning over every stone to find any potential piece of talent. They were apparently one of 27 teams at Gary Zauner’s free agent specialists combine.
Cowboys were one of 27 teams who attended Gary Zauner's free agent combine this week for NFL specialist hopefuls. Pro scouting coordinator Henry Sroka represented the organization in Gilbert, Arizona. Team is closely monitoring the talent pool at kicker, punter and long snapper.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) March 11, 2020
Another Successful Free Agent Combine! This combine is only successful because of the Quality of Specialist that register and participate. This in turn brings the NFL Teams, Special Teams Coordinators, Assistant Coaches & Directors of PRO Personnel to evaluate the talent. pic.twitter.com/IIDDccJEdh
— Gary Zauner (@CoachZauner) March 11, 2020
You never know where you are going to find talent for special teams, especially when it comes to the core positions. Dallas doing their due diligence here is something that should have all Cowboys fans feeling confident that they are doing what they can to right the ship on that side of the ball.
This combine took place from March 8th through 10th so it was very recent. Hopefully the Cowboys saw something that they liked and that they can translate into success in 2020.