Cowboys news: The debate around drafting a running back in the first round continues

Cowboys RB Plan: Draft Longhorns Bijan Robinson, Don’t Re-Sign Tony Pollard?- Riley Sheppard, Fan Nation

The future of the Cowboys' running back room should be clarified in less than a month.

Long-time back Ezekiel Elliott has been cut. Tony Pollard has signed his one-year contract. And this is a deep NFL draft for running backs, starting with Texas star Bijan Robinson, with B/R joining in the chorus in its latest NFL Mock Draft by projecting Bijan to the ‘Boys.

They write: “Head coach Mike McCarthy made it clear this offseason that he wants to make the Cowboys a run-first offense, even more so than they have been already ... Robinson ... perfectly fits into the team’s ideology.”

Actually, though - and CowboysSI.com is sitting right there with McCarthy as he is detailing his supervision of a change to his West Coast Offense, it’s not about “run first.’’ It’s about “run more.’’

What it might not be about is “pay more,’’ however.

With Pro Bowl back Pollard set to make $10.9 million under the franchise tag this season, the Cowboys could just sit on that, without bothering to negotiate an extension. And why not?

Because if Dallas drafts a star runner - Robinson or someone else - the new kid can take over under the terms of a rookie contract that costs a fraction of what Pollard might command.

WILL THE COWBOYS OFFENSIVE LINE EXCEL NEXT YEAR?- Tony Stahl, Inside The Star

The Cowboys had to shift around a bit on the offensive line last year with injury, how will they perfrom this year?

TYLER BIADASZ:

The Cowboy’s Center has been pretty good over the years. The snaps are always on target, Biadasz always blocks well, and he has good skill with field awareness.

I would say Tyler Biadasz is a very good player and deserved his spot on the field. Next season should be another great year with him and no change should be done to that position.

ZACK MARTIN:

Mr. Martin will be playing right guard next season and is ready to go. One complaint about his player is his field awareness level. I often see Martin looking around the backfield, determining who to block.

Martin will need to work on finding his guy to block and sticking with him.

He is a great player, but some work will need tp be done to assure that the line will hold against the defense.

4 Dallas Cowboys who won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023 - Randy Gurzi, The Landry Hat

Hope is not lost for these four names, but it isn’t looking good.

3. Takk McKinley, EDGE

There was a time when Takk McKinley would have been a welcome addition to the Cowboys roster. A former first-round pick in 2017, he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons who moved up to get in front of Dallas.

At the time, the Cowboys were in pursuit of a defensive end and wound up settling for Taco Charlton, and we all know how that worked out. McKinley was better than Charlton early but that didn’t last long.

He had 13 sacks in the first two seasons of his career but has just seven since then and has been with five teams since being waived in 2020. He’s only seen the field for two of those teams, playing sparingly in Cleveland in 2021 before spending four games with the Rams to start last season.

McKinley found his way back to Dan Quinn as he joined the Dallas practice squad to close out the year and was brought back for the 2023 campaign. However, any chance he had to make it into the rotation this season essentially went out the window when Dante Fowler, Jr. re-signed on a one-year deal.

Clark Phillips was a top prospect before 2023, is he a Cowboys fit?- Mike Crum, CowboysWire

Dallas might not be done addressing their CB corps, so keep an eye on Clark Phillips during the draft.

Strengths

Dallas fans are familiar with Phillips III’s top strength, being a ball hawk, because they’ve seen it with Diggs for the past three seasons. Like Diggs, Phillips III was a converted receiver who has been able to take those qualities to defense. He tracks the ball well, has an inside knowledge on route combinations, and understands what to look for in a receiver’s route transitions.

He ended his career with nine interceptions, four of which he took back for a touchdown. That shows his ability to be a playmaker, with an almost 50% return for touchdown rate on all his picks.

Phillips III has a “top dog” style that keeps him working at his craft. Whether it is how he is first in and last out of the facility, or how he shows up in the biggest moments of the most important games. Cornerbacks ] the size of Phillips III are typically relagated to the slot, but the mentality he has, plus his physicality made him strong enough to be an outside corner at Utah.

The stats that show why Tyron Smith should be the Cowboys new swing tackle- Dan Rogers, Blogging The Boys

After a long and successful career, is it time for Tyron Smith to play a different role?

While other factors go into rushing production and sack totals, we’re not going to gloss over the effectiveness of the Tyler Smith/Terence Steele split. Steele’s presence in the run game is undeniable and something we already knew, but the pass protection “weakness” that supposedly goes along with him isn’t as glaring as some might think.

The Cowboys would be wise to stick with the youngsters on the edge as they already have showcased their ability to play well and they’re only getting better. These two are the tackles of the future, so why not bypass all this OL shuffling and let them build on what they’re good at?

Additionally, Tyron’s fragility has limited his overall contribution and it seems more sensible to preserve his health and just keep him in their back pocket. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t put all three on the field at the same time when it gets down to crunch time and they want to have the strongest overall group, but just know, they’re rolling the dice every extra snap Tyron plays. So, if it comes down to which one should be the swing tackle, that role should go to the future Hall of Famer.

Cowboys 2023 draft interest tracker for 30 national visitors, Dallas Day- K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire

And if recent history has taught us anything, Dallas will be closely monitoring these 30 names come draft time.

WR Quentin Johnston, TCU - National Visitor

CB Emmauel Forbes, Mississippi State - National Visitor

RB Kendre Miller, TCU - National Visitor (Also Pro Day meeting/workout)

WR Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss - National Visitor

TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma - National Visitor

DL Tyler Lacy, Oklahoma State - National Visitor

OG Atonio Mafi, UCLA - National Visior

Defensive Back Marte Mapu, Sacramento State - National Visitor

Safety Tanner McCalister, Ohio State - National Visitor

DT Jaquelin Roy, LSU - National Visitor

WR Marvin Mims, Jr. - Oklahoma - Dallas Day

CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU - Dallas Day

WR Malik Knowles, Kansas State - Dallas Day

OL Alan Ali , TCU - Dallas Day

(via 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt)

DT Calvin Avery, Illinois - Dallas Day

(via 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt)

WR Keilahn Harris, Oklahoma Baptist - Dallas Day

LB Jimmy Phillips, Jr., SMU - Dallas Day

(via 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt)

Punter Michael Turk, Oklahoma - Dallas Day

(via 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt)

LB Dee Winters, TCU - Dallas Day

(via 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt)

QB Logan Bonner, Utah State - Dallas Day

via Aaron Wilson

QB Max Duggan, TCU - Dallas Day

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