Predicting the Dallas Cowboys’ starting 22 in 2022
By Reid Hanson
Let’s take a trip into the future and try to predict who will be starting for the Dallas Cowboys in the year 2022
NFL rosters typically change considerably year-to-year and the Dallas Cowboys are no different. Dallas usually sees a 50 percent churn in just two years’ time, meaning the roster of 2022 will look dramatically different than it does today.
Granted, most of the turnover happens in the lower ranks, but we can’t underestimate the changes in the starting lineup. Short career spans and non-guaranteed money means the cornerstones of today are afterthoughts tomorrow.
Just look at how much changed on the Dallas Cowboys from 2017 to 2019. Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, and Cole Beasley were your starting receivers in 2017. In 2019 the WR position experienced 100 percent turnover, employing Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Randall Cobb as the top-3.
Quarterback and running back remained the same as did most of the offensive line. Only Jonathan Cooper at LG left the team. But given the age and contracts situation, none of that is surprising.
Defensively the starters at DT were Maliek Collins and David Irving in 2017. Collins remained but Irving is long gone. The starting RDE in 2017 was Tyrone Crawford but in 2019 the starter was Robert Quinn (oddly enough, Crawford is the favorite to start at RDE again here in 2020).
Starting linebackers in 2017 were Sean Lee, Anthony Hitchens, and Damien Wilson. In 2019 only Sean Lee remained. In 2017, CB was a bit of a mess because of inexperience and major turnover but the main starters were widely considered to be Orlando Scandrick and Anthony Brown with Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis splitting time at outside CB. In 2019, Scandy was long gone and Lewis was buried on the depth chart.
As you can see a lot can change in just two short seasons, now imagine what it will look like in nearly three. So today we assess the roster and attempt to predict who will be starting on both sides of the ball in 2022.