NFL analysts are split on where they rank the Dallas Cowboys skill position group

When it comes to the game of professional football things generally come down to the quarterback. It is why the position is paid so well. Of course there are other contributing members to a team. It has been said many times that defense wins championships, and while that has a high level of truth to it, we are still overlooking another important group.

While the talent level of a given quarterback matters, it is also important for the signal-caller to have a viable supporting cast around them. Think back to the beginning of the 2018 season when the Dallas Cowboys infamously chose to go with a “wide receiver by committee” mindset that set them back quite a bit before they ultimately traded for Amari Cooper who helped save the season. Good times.

The point here is that you can have the best quarterback in the world but even they need proper weapons to work with. Consider that even though Patrick Mahomes does not have All-Pros all around him, he does have one of the best pass-catchers in the game in tight end Travis Kelce.

Talent around the quarterback matters.

NFL analysts are split on where they rank the Dallas Cowboys skill position group

The Cowboys made a number of changes to their skill position group this offseason by way of different sorts of decisions. They watched Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown walk in free agency, chose to release Ezekiel Elliott, traded for Brandin Cooks and drafted Luke Schoonmaker and Deuce Vaughn.

Another highly-discussed thing these last few months has been the renewed sense of hope that fans have in Michael Gallup as 2023 will be his second season following the torn ACL that he suffered in January of 2021. All told there is no question that fans feel better about what Dak Prescott has around him than they did a year ago (the fallout of the Amari Cooper trade).

The subject of supporting casts has been discussed a lot over the last few days. On their latest episode, the Around The NFL podcast crew recently ranked all 32 teams and so did ESPN’s Bill Barnwell in a written piece. Here is each analyst’s top 15 teams which was the necessary cutoff point to include the Cowboys for all four.

As you can see Dan Hanzus and Gregg Rosenthal are a little bit more bearish on what the Cowboys have to offer than Marc Sessler or Bill Barnwell. It does feel a bit harsh to put the Cowboys outside of the top 10, though.

Consider that Dallas is returning both CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard (the latter admittedly coming off of injury) and that they are two of the most explosive players in the NFL. What’s more is that Dallas added another explosive playmaker in Brandin Cooks and that they moved on from one who has (no disrespect intended here) lacked explosiveness for some time now in Ezekiel Elliott.

It certainly feels fair for teams like the 49ers, Eagles, Bengals, Seahawks and maybe even Dolphins to be slotted ahead of Dallas. Even the Vikings are a strong case with Justin Jefferson being a part of their mix.

But it seems like a hard sell that the Jets, Jaguars, Browns, or even Chiefs with the mighty Travis Kelce, have better overall groups than the Cowboys. Again, there is some acknowledged unknown that Dallas is dealing with here in 2023, but they have one of the best 7-8 receivers in the game, a top 5-6 running back and fresh players that should help the group even more.

Where would you rank Dallas? Let us know in the comments down below.