Jameill Showers: A Keeper For Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys need to hold on to quarterback Jameill Showers at all costs.

If you’re not familiar with Showers after watching Sunday night’s preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, you probably had given up on the whole thing before he entered the game following the complete ineffectiveness of third-string quarterback Dustin Vaughan – no fault in that whatsoever.

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Showers played his college football at University of Texas-El Paso, perhaps the main reason he’s not a household name among college football players of his era. He played his high school football at Shoemaker High School in Killeen.

What’s interesting about Showers is his versatility as an athlete.

Currently playing the role of fourth quarterback at Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, which is about to break this week, Showers also plays on special teams. He’s logged three solo tackles on kickoff coverage units during two preseason games thus far.

Standing 6’1” and weighing some 230 pounds, Showers is the shortest of the Dallas quarterbacks currently operating at camp, but he’s easily the most mobile of the bunch. Only Tony Romo, on his best days, compares in terms of his ability to move around in the pocket.

Showers has demonstrated the ability to not only move in the pocket, but he’s a bona fide threat to run out of the backfield at any given moment, a quality he’s displayed in both preseason games against the 49ers and the San Diego Chargers.

On Sunday night he took off twice on passing plays for a total of 19 yards on a couple of carries. The week prior at San Diego he had a couple more carries for 18 yards, all in all an average of 9.3 yards per attempt – he’s capable of more than that.

But then comes his passing ability.

Showers has plenty of arm to play quarterback and simply needs the time and repetitions that have been afforded third string passer Dustin Vaughan, who was arguably terrible in Santa Clara. In year two of his development, Vaughan fired two interceptions that almost became three on one play when a badly under thrown pass was pursued by two 49ers defensive backs near the sideline that happened to collide with each other.

Yes, Showers also threw a late interception, but given the game circumstances he’s facing in these games along with the players he’s lining up with, I don’t know exactly how much we can penalize a youngster in his first season out of UTEP.

In fact, during last week’s Chargers game, television play-by-play announcer Bill Jones actually compared Showers to none other than Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Having seen virtually nothing of Showers at UTEP, I chuckled when I heard this unexpected observation, but the more I’ve seen of Showers, the more I get the likeness.

Showers seemed a little more comfortable in the pocket Sunday night than he was in San Diego the week prior. Despite the interception, he put the ball up a little more and seemed more eager to get the ball down field. I suppose it’s worth mentioning that he did lead the Cowboys to their only points of the night late against San Francisco. His eight-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Nick Harwell was a prefect example of both his mobility and his arm strength. The play actually resembled Joe Montana’s six-yard touchdown pass to Dwight Clark in the 1982 NFC Championship Game a little ways north in San Francisco.

It’s hard to see Dallas carrying four quarterbacks into the season, but perhaps not if you consider the special teams ability of Showers. At the very least, an invitation to the practice squad would seem like a no-brainer, especially with opposing passers like Wilson and Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers on the upcoming schedule. Showers would seem like a natural in simulating these quarterbacks during the run-up to those contests.

There’s more to see of Showers before the regular season gets underway. He should get plenty of action during the fourth and final contest against the Houston Texan in two weeks and might even get a little more on Saturday late against the Minnesota Vikings.

But what he’s shown to this point is more than intriguing, especially for a franchise that figures to be looking for a future-franchise quarterback much sooner than later.

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