Dallas Cowboys: Which rookie has the best chance to make the Pro Bowl?

The Dallas Cowboys will have a couple of talented rookies on their roster. But which first-year players are the most likely to make a Pro Bowl.

The Dallas Cowboys have a fantastic 2018 NFL draft class. Most analysts loved the combination of picking players at a position of need but also focusing on the best player available in each round.

But just how talented are the Cowboys rookies and do any of them have a chance to make the Pro Bowl in the first season in the NFL? Let’s take a look at which rookies have a chance to make a significant impact and receive some end of the year awards.

Michael Gallup: I am going to go out on a limb and say it, Gallup is my favorite new addition to this team. Prior to the draft, I geeked out about his stats and his production. He did fall short in combine testing and that is because he is not a natural track star, he is a natural football player.

Gallup focuses on catching the football with his hands, not his body something that is rare in today’s NFL. He runs Dak Prescott’s favorite route and supremely efficient at it. He reminds of a little bit of both Allen Robinson and Dez Bryant but his focus is off the charts.

The Cowboys offense needs a number one receiver and I believe Gallup, not Allen Hurns will be that guy by the end of the season. Gallup is a complete cut above players like Terrance Williams and Deonte Thompson and it should show on the football field.

All of the reports coming out of the Dallas Cowboys OTA’s have stated that Prescott and Gallup already have a great rapport and that bond will only get stronger as the season moves forward.

By the end of the season Gallup should be closing in on 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. Is that a little ambitious, maybe, but Gallup skills are real. The Pittsburgh Steelers found a gem in Antonio Brown fairly late in the draft, Gallup has some similarities in terms of his upside.

Connor Williams: The Dallas Cowboys newest offensive lineman is expected to fit right in next to Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Travis Frederick. The sense is Williams will pick things up fast and will lean on his superior run blocking traits to help this team’s ground and pound attack.

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Williams is a vicious blocker and has that toughness that we see in La’El Collins and Zack Martin. Out of any of the rookies, Williams seems to be the most set up for success as he will have some great mentors around him.

I mean this is an offensive line that has had a lot worse players than Williams line up at guard and still saw tremendous success. Williams should be the last piece of the puzzle that will propel the Cowboys offensive line back to the top of the league.

If Smith, Frederick, Martin, and Collins all get Pro Bowl nods, expect Williams to do the same.

Leighton Vander Esch: Now I know what you are going to say, duh, right he is the teams first round pick, of course, he has a good chance at being productive. That is not always the case and at linebacker, it would be pretty difficult for Vander Esch to make that big of an impact in his first season.

LVE will see a ton of snaps early on as let’s face it Sean Lee is not known for staying healthy. The Dallas Cowboys should be as cautious with him as possible and that could mean giving some of his snaps to the rookie Vander Esch.

Now we have already seen LVE miss some of OTA’s due to an ankle issue however it is not thought to be a big deal. The team is likely preserving LVE for a heavy workload in the fall. Realistically if Lee ever goes down, Vander Esch will be the man in this linebacking corps.

Yes, I only selected the top three picks from the draft but it is truly because they are better than most of the players currently at their position. LVE is better than most of the linebackers on this roster except for Lee and potentially Jaylon Smith.

Gallup is better than most of the wide receivers on the roster except for potentially Hurns. Williams is better than all of the backup offensive linemen, so he is in line for a starting role. These three players were extremely necessary for the Dallas Cowboys especially if they wanted to win more games than they did in 2017.

Next: Dallas Cowboys: Should the team trade for DeSean Jackson?

Expect a big year out of the Cowboys draft class.

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