Dallas Cowboys: Why Trysten Hill may already be the odd man out
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Cowboys top pick from 2019, Trysten Hill, may not have a spot on the roster in 2020
After a disappointing rookie season, many Dallas Cowboys fans fear Trysten Hill will follow in the footsteps of fellow disappointment, Taco Charlton. Charlton, many remember was Dallas top pick in 2017. After a little over two seasons the Dallas Cowboys gave up on him and cut him loose. Now Hill faces that same fate.
The sad thing is Trysten Hill may not even make it as long as Charlton did. Looking at the roster today, it’s hard to see him make the final roster cut when Dallas drops to 53 (+2). In both of our final roster predictions, we’ve had Hill missing the cut and it’s going to take something big for him to change that.
It’s numbers game for Trysten Hill. The Dallas Cowboys can only keep so many players at so many spots. They can’t afford to save a roster spot for a developmental prospect who refuses to develop. Especially since that pick was influenced heavily by the previous coaching staff. Keep in mind, the current staff drafted Neville Gallimore this year. Since Gallimore plays the same position as Hill, he may ultimately be his undoing.
It’s a numbers game on the defensive line. We know through past rosters and by comments made from our current coaching staff roughly how many players the Cowboys are going to keep…
Mike McCarthy: "I want 6 rushers and I want 4 inside players (on the defensive line). ... We're going to score points, so we better have enough pass rushers on our team because we're going to be in those kinds of games. ... It's fun to score 35 points every game, but it's hard."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 26, 2020
If the Dallas Cowboys indeed keep just four defensive tackles, they’ll likely need to split the roster spots between 1-tech DTs and 3-tech DTs.
Gerald McCoy is clearly the starting 3-tech. He’s quick, strong, and a proven 1-gapper. McCoy will provide the bulk of the interior pressure on this team. Behind him is expected to be the rookie Gallimore. Gallimore played more of a NT role in college but he was drafted for his quickness and pass rush ability so the move to 3-tech is expected.
At the 1-tech the clear starter is Dontari Poe. Poe will do the dirty work inside incorporating some 2-gap and even playing NT in the 3-4. Antwaun Woods, if he ever signs his tender, is his primary backup. Woods is proven 1-tech and as a rotational piece, immediately makes this 1-tech rotation better than we’ve seen in years.
And that’s it.
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If Mike McCarthy stays true to his words there’s unlikely to be a spot for Trysten Hill. Now if Woods holds out and the Cowboys decide to move on, that opens a spot at DT. The only problem is it’s a different position Hill was being groomed for. Now if Hill can make the move to 1-tech that would be great. He has a tremendous set of skills to work with and if he can tap them and play motivated he’d be a great solution. But 1-tech requires a certain level of “ornery” that I’m not sure Hill possesses.
With so many edge players capable of kicking inside and playing DT on nickel downs, it doesn’t make much sense to go long at the 3-tech this season. It’s a numbers game and Hill appears to be on the outside looking in.
Next. 3 Dallas Cowboys expected to rebound in 2020. dark
Trysten Hill is going to have to standout considerably in camp to earn a spot. He may even need to change positions and move to 1-tech to have a spot on this roster.
- Published on 07/06/2020 at 11:01 AM
- Last updated at 07/03/2020 at 09:22 AM