Predicting Dallas Cowboys “Mr. Irreplaceable” on offense and defense in 2021

The Dallas Cowboys learned firsthand last year just how important certain players are as it pertains to the organizations success or failure for the season. The sad truth is there are just certain players on the roster who simply aren’t as easily replaced as others. Unfortunately, several such players succumbed to the injury bug early and often last year.

The Cowboys are hoping last year was an aberration and that they will be much more fortunate on the injury front in 2021. Odds are almost all of the key players they lost to injury last year should be able to rebound and pick up where they left off pre-injury, but there’s no way of knowing that for sure. We will just have to hope that’s the way it plays out.

For arguments sake, though, let’s take a look at who the Cowboys can ill afford to lose in 2021 on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Knowing Dak Prescott is the obvious answer on offense, as any starting QB around the league is, let’s just go ahead and take him out of the equation right now. That’s fair, right!?

Dallas Cowboys “Mr. Irreplaceable” on offense

The Dallas Cowboys have a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but there’s no denying there are some players who will be a lot harder to replace than others. There are no shortage of candidates to be “Mr. Irreplaceable” on offense for the Cowboys, however, the player that is most deserving of that distinction right now should be Tyler Biadasz.

Biadasz was the Cowboys fourth-round draft pick in 2020 and ended up starting four games as a rookie as Joe Looney’s replacement in Week 5 against the New York Giants. Sadly, his time as the starting center was short-lived, landing on injured reserve in late November due to an injury (hamstring) of his own. Entering Year 2, he now looks to be the unquestioned starter.

As things stand right now, the Cowboys don’t have a serious competition at the center position. It’s Tyler Biadasz or nothing. To make matters worse, it doesn’t even really look as if they have a clear-cut answer as to who his backup will be either. Because of that, he is the one player outside of Dak Prescott the Cowboys simply cannot afford to lose.

Dallas Cowboys “Mr. Irreplaceable” on defense

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

As many candidates as the Dallas Cowboys have to be “Mr. Irreplaceable” on the offensive side of the ball, the opposite probably rings true on the defensive side. No one, including the Cowboys defensive coaching staff, knows with any kind of certainty who will start where on defense in 2021. That uncertainty makes Dan Quinn’s job all the more important.

While Dallas doesn’t have the same kind of talent on defense as they do on offense, they aren’t exactly talent deprived either. When it comes to the one player they can ill afford to lose, it is none other than No. 90, DeMarcus Lawrence, the two-time Pro Bowler and best and most fearsome defensive player Dallas has on their entire roster.

Lawrence receives a lot of criticism because his QB sack numbers don’t match other high-priced pass rushers in the league, but there’s no denying Dallas’ defense would be drastically worse without him in the lineup. The Cowboys simply don’t have anybody else who can effect the game as a run defender or pass rusher like he does. That in itself makes him irreplaceable.