Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are young and talented

ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 26: Leighton Vander Esch of Boise State poses after being picked #19 overall by the Dallas Cowboys during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 26: Leighton Vander Esch of Boise State poses after being picked #19 overall by the Dallas Cowboys during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Before the 2018 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys were one of the youngest teams in the league. But after the draft, they got even younger and more talented.

The last time the Dallas Cowboys were this young as a team, owner/general manager Jerry Jones didn’t meddle as much, Jimmy Johnson was the head coach, and the elder George H.W. Bush was the President of United States.

In fact, the Cowboys were still a youthful team when Bill Clinton took office in 1993, the year they won their first of three Super Bowls in a four-year span. That’s how young and talented those dynamic teams were back in the 1990’s.

As I watched last week’s NFL draft and the players the Cowboys selected, I realized this team is filling up its roster with a youth once again. When you take into account the players drafted from the 2017 class, the Cowboys are one of the youngest and most talented teams in the NFL.

The key words are “young and talented”. From the skill positions to the offensive and defensive line, the Cowboys have some up and coming talent that is going to cause some havoc sooner than later.

Let’s explore this youth movement. I’ll start with the offensive line first, the foundation and strength of the Cowboys.

On opening day of the 2017 NFL season, the Cowboys offensive line had an average age of 25.9.

Tyron Smith was 26, Chaz Green (25), Travis Frederick (26), Zack Martin (26), and La’el Collins (24). If you add Jonathan Cooper (27) age at the time, then the Cowboys opening day would increase to 26.4.

Although that was last season and those players are a year older, the Cowboys still have a young offensive line, and it got even younger and more talented when it drafted Texas offensive lineman Connor Williams in the second round.

Williams was seen as a first-round talent, but his up-and-down season is why felled down the draft board. Regardless, Williams is another young and talented stud that will likely start at left guard and Collins will stay at tackle.

Collins is an upgrade and adds depth to this massive unit. Even if Williams doesn’t start, Dallas has depth with tackle Cameron Fleming and guard Marcus Martin. And yes, they’re young, too.

With a young and gifted offensive line that boasts over 10 Pro Bowl appearances and several first-team All-Pro seasons, look for this unit to keep destroying opposing defenses.

Mr. Do Everything Sean Lee is the oldest person on the defense at age 31. As long as Lee stays healthy, Dallas will have one of the best linebacking corps in the league.

The Skill positions

The Dallas Cowboys are young at running back, wide receiver and quarterback which is mindboggling considering that in 2015 that was not the case. Ezekiel Elliott (22), Allen Hurns (26), Noah Brown (22), Michael Gallup (22), Cedrick Wilson (22), Cole Beasley (29), Deonte Thompson (29), Tavon Austin (27), KD Cannon (22), Lance Lenoir (23) and Terrance Williams (28) make up most of the teams offensive weapons and they are all pretty young with the exception of Beasley.

The only player over 30 is Jason Witten (35), and he might retire to the television booth. Even his replacements are in their 20’s, like Rico Gathers (24), Geoff Swaim (27), Blake Jarwin (23), and Dalton Schultz (21).

If Witten doesn’t return for his 16th season, Dallas will boast one of the youngest, talented, and most promising offenses entering the 2018 NFL season. Combine the experience of Dak, Zeke, the newly, revamped receiving corps, the offensive line, and Dallas’ offense can be more deadly than ever next season.

The defense

Just like the offense, the Dallas defense is just as young. Before the 2017 NFL draft, Dallas allowed most of its veteran secondary to walk into free agency. As a result, Dallas drafted ChIdobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Xavier Woods, and Marquez White to upgrade their secondary (who are all in their early 20’s).

Also, there is Byron JonesAnthony Brown, Jeff Heath, and Kavon Frazier (the veterans of the group).

That’s a young secondary that has at least a year’s worth of experience under its belt, and they played fairly well as rookies. Much is to be expected from this talented unit.

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In addition to the secondary, Dallas front seven is very young, too. Demarcus Lawrence, David Irving, Maliek Collins, Tyrone Crawford, Charles Tapper, Jaylon Smith, and Leighton Vander Esch are all under 28.

Mr. Do Everything Sean Lee is the oldest person on the defense at age 31. As long as Lee stays healthy, Dallas will have one of the best linebacking corps in the league.

The expectations are high next season for Lawrence, Irving, Smith, and Vander Esch, to name a few. That’s a great thing because it has been a very long time since Dallas has been this young and talented on both sides of the ball.

Next: Cowboys: Was Leighton Vander Esch drafted to stop the RPO?

I’m not saying this young team is as good as the ones during the Super Bowl years because we simply don’t know the ceiling for this young core. However, its a young team with promise and potential, that’s all you need to win a Super Bowl, something that’s long overdue for America’s Team.